Plan: B
by Backinwonderland
Summary: Join Emily Jones as she keeps her relation to Danny Jones a secret from her closests friends. Will it lead to more secrets and lies? Or love and happiness like she strives for? Maybe just a little bit of both?
1. Chapter 1

So this is my brand-spankin' new story. I had said that I was going to post an old story that I wrote a while ago up, but PART of the plot for that story has SORT OF been appearing lately (meaning that I noticed someone else write about something similar… =[) so I thought I'd give it a moment and put up a new one instead. This idea has been going through my head a lot lately so I needed to get it out anyway. =]

I'm going to tell you guys now, these chapters will probably not be as long as Bad Days had. This is just… an impulsive whim. I love it, but there won't be TOO much in each chapter. Just enough. =]

**ENJOY. **

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I stared at my phone, anticipating the ever-so important call. The clock on the wall read that it was already five minutes late. What was the hold up? Did they not know how much I needed to know what was going on?

The sound of an elegant bell filled the small janitor's closet, matching the vibration my phone was emanating. I jumped out of nerves, shock and excitement as the phone nearly fell from my hands before I brought it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked in an anticipating whisper.

_"Em?" _My brother's familiar deep voice filled the other end of the phone in confusion. _"What's with the whispers?"_

"I'm the janitor's closet. You know phones aren't allowed in school." I replied quickly, anxious to hear the results. "So? How did it go?"

_"Honestly?" _There was absolutely no excitement in his tone, just embarrassment. My heart sank as disappointment washed through me.

"Oh, Dan… I'm so sorry…"

_"Sorry? You haven't even heard the story yet!" _Was it bad? The embarrassment never faded from his tone.

"Okay? What happened?"

_"I show up at the audition, right? Turns out it was for a full out BOY-BAND. Seriously, Em, I was the only one with a guitar. Everyone was standing around doing stretches and dancing…It was so embarrassing… I'm still blushing now…"_

"… So you didn't get in?"

_"Well, no obviously. Not to that band." _

Something clicked inside my mind as I listened to his pleased words. There was definitely a reason why he wasn't upset.

"Was there _another _band?"

_"You definitely got the brains in our family, sis."_

"Oh my god!" I squealed, jumping up and down in an obnoxiously dorky manner. I was alone for god sakes! If the janitor walked in right now… It was better to not think about it.

_"I know! It turns out that the kid video taping the auditions tried out for Busted a while ago. You know them, right? Yeah, well, he almost got in but in the end they chose a different guy. The label kept him on anyway to see if they could put together another kind of band and guess what?"_

"What?" I humored him, though I could guess where he was going with his story.

_"THEY SIGNED ME!"_

I forced my hand over my mouth as I almost screamed, not wanting to draw attention to my awkward dancing inside the closet. My brother, _my brother, _was living his dream! He was in a _signed _band!

"Danny, I am SO happy for you!" I squealed, trying to whisper.

_"Oh, you have no idea! We'll get to write with James Bourne and everything. Apparently him and Tom, the kid video taping the auditions, hit it off pretty well and have written a few songs already!"_

"James Bourne!"

_"I haven't called mum yet, so don't give anything away all right? I want to break the news okay?" _He sounded really excited as he spoke.

"Don't worry about that, Dan. I'm still in school - remember? You'll probably get home before me anyway."

_"Is it as clear to you as it is to me that you __**definitely**__ have our family's brains while I have all the talent?" _

"Yeah, well… I have our looks."

_"Don't even go there, Em."_

"Oh, I went there, Mr. Rock-Star."

Danny laughed loudly on the other end and I could practically hear him roll his eyes.

_"See you later, Emily."_

"Bye, Dan. I'm so happy for you!" I said again as I hung up and stowed my phone back into my bag. After completing one last celebratory dance, I opened the door a crack in order to make my escape. The hallway seemed clear enough for me to quickly make my way to the bathroom, where I was actually supposed to be according to my teacher.

Inside, my best friend Jessica turned around to face me anxiously, looking up from her watch anxiously. I was late, but so was the call! It's not my fault Danny didn't know how to call when he said he would!

"So? Did he make it?" She asked after my body language gave her no information.

"No…" I trailed off, teasing with her.

"Oh…" Her face dropped, looking extremely bummed out. "Well, at least he tried right?"

"He got into a _different _band!" I squealed happily, jumping up and down excitedly.

It took Jessica a moment for her to grasp the meaning of my words. Her face still showed a large amount of confusion but that didn't stop her from jumping up and down with me. Together in the girl's room, we grasped on to one another and danced out our joy.

"This is amazing! He must be so ecstatic." She gushed as we slowed down our extravagant jumping.

"That doesn't even cover it. He's in a band with the runner up for _Busted, _Jess. He'll get to write with James Bourne and everything!" Was this even possible? Danny Jones, my unbelievably weirdo of a brother was making it big! I knew he could do it.

"That is absolutely unbelievable." Jess sighed, shaking her head in astonishment. I couldn't help but agree.

For the rest of the day I lived in some kind of euphoric dreamland. My emotions were on some kind of natural high, like a meditation or something. I was so proud of him and excited at the same time. My family had never really had anyone accomplish anything like this before. Danny was a first.

"Emily? Emily Jones?" I spun around from my locker as my name was called, searching for the speaker. My eyes widened in shock at Bethany Townsend stood in front of me in all her seventeen year-old beauty. Every girl I ever knew envied her for her long blonde hair and creamy clear skin. Every boy I knew fantasized about her, though no one was really good enough. Rumor had it that she only dated college guys, seeing as all the boys in our school were so immature. Was she actually speakingto _me_?

"Bethany?" I asked, confused.

"It's Beth." She corrected, smiling sweetly.

"Oh. Um, hello." My voice shook awkwardly as I shut my locker behind me. We both had lunch together and we made our way towards the cafeteria. People turned to stare as we passed.

"So Emily, rumor has it that Danny's doing pretty good. I remember him. Didn't he graduate last year?" She asked, interested.

"Yeah, he did. He took a year off to get a band together. He just got in to one today, actually." I replied, surprised that the news had gone around so quickly.

"That is so awesome! Your friend, Jessica, just told me. How does it feel to have a famous brother?" She asked, laughing lightly.

"Oh he's not famous really. Or at least… not yet. I suppose it won't feel much different though. He'll still be Just Danny to me." I laughed as well, thrilled that we were getting along. Of course, I knew her initial interest in me had to do with Danny's acceptance into the band. Was it too horrible for me to wish that maybe she'd like me in the end? That maybe she'd realize I was interesting and she'd introduce me to all her college friends… A girl could hope, right?

"Yeah, totally. He's such a down to earth guy, obviously he wont change too much. He'll meet all those snobby famous people anyway, and realize that he won't want to be like that." She stated, sounding very normal and interested.

"He'll actually be writing with James Bourne soon. You know the guy from Busted? You don't suppose he's an asshole, do you?" I asked as we entered the cafeteria.

"Well, if he is, I bet Danny will set him right. Are you buying?" She asked, motioning towards the lunch line.

"No, bagged." Lifting up the brown paper lunch bag in my hands.

"Oh, alright. Why don't we sit together today? I'll be right back with my lunch." Beth smiled as she set her bag down on a round table before walking off to the lunch line. I set my lunch down on the table before rushing out of the room and towards the toilets. I seriously needed to check my nerves before heading back in.

In the mirror, I checked my average reflection in the mirror. Brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and boring features… Nothing really stood out, did it?

I splashed some water on my face before heading back out. The room had filled up considerably since I had left, and my table had filled up some. Jessica was sitting happily on Beth's other side, giggling and chatting away with her vicariously. I smiled a little bit, secretly glad that they were getting along so well. I could see a new friendship in the making.

As I slowly approached the table, I managed to grasp on to some of their conversation. Curiosity fueled me to hear some of what they were saying before I took my place back at the table.

_"Seriously, they're nothing a like. I've known her family since I was little. Danny's so nice and she's… so weird. I just don't get her sometimes – you know?" _

I sucked in a huge breath as I walked up behind Jess and Beth. Were they talking about _me_?

_"I get what you mean. I get sketchy vibes from her. Danny though – definitely a catch, that one." _Beth's smile was dark and mysterious as she bit into her salad.

They _were _talking about me.

Was I really that weird? Was I mean? Annoying? Jessica was my best friend! She'd never said anything like this before! Was this all because of Danny? It was betrayal at it worst. A double whammy; shot through the heart by Beth, and stabbed in the back by Jess. There was no way I could survive this.

"Oh… Emily…" Jess turned around suddenly to see me standing behind them, stunned. I knew from the way her eyes held no apology that we would never really be friends again. My heart hurt more, knowing that.

I spun around and walked away, vowing to myself that I would never allow Danny's fame to affect me in anyway, ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

WOHOO! I have like… five chapters of this written out already. I definitely have a plan for everything so it wont be going unfinished. I actually quite excited.

OH AND!

You wonderful, wonderful reader… um… I apologize. I can't think of your pen name off the top of my head. Alexis Gage? Alex? I'm sorry again.

ANYWAY.

I think your reviews were wonderful. Seriously. VERY VERY DEVOTED. I apologize again for forgetting to check your pen name first. Maybe I'll edit it in or something… 3

And I know your awesome reviews were on BDs but that's okay. You'll get a shout out on this story instead.

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Five Years Later – University, Junior Year.

Danny's face stared down at me as I woke up, at breakfast, wrote papers, and fell asleep. McFly posters covered every inch of my dorm room; each of the four faces smiling over at me as though they were taunting my discomfort. It was the Devil Serpent tempting Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.

Though I was smarter then Eve. I wouldn't give in to temptation.

"Amanda, I draw the line for the shower. Seriously, is this _necessary_?" I asked incredulously. I had a plain white towel wrapped around me as I reentered our dorm room's living quarters. I had just pealed a laminated computer-sized paper of my brother and his band mates off of the shower door after I realized I wasn't quite alone while cleansing myself.

"Well… I realized one day that I missed seeing their smiling faces while I sang to their songs… I figured that you wouldn't mind…" Amanda, my wonderful yet horrible roommate defended as I threw the laminated paper across the room at her.

"It's just a little too far for me. Seriously, we negotiated on the inside of the cupboard – remember?" Was it too unfair for me to be angry? She was just an obsessive fan.

But wasn't it unfair for the world to stick me with such an obsessive fan, especially because I was trying my hardest to run away from such people?

Though I loved Amanda all the same. She had wonderful moments when we'd stay up to four in the morning eating ice cream and watching chick flicks. Or when she'd skinny dip in the swim teams pool in order to prove that the men's team was gay cause they shaved _all _of their hair.

She was wrong. Obviously. It was still funny, though.

"But… how can you resist that face, Emily? It just screams 'shower with me!'" She held up the paper and pointed to Danny's picture, emphasizing her argument by shoving the entire photo in my face.

This was a good example of some of the tempting and extremely awkward moments where I would want to scream my secret to the world. Danny Jones is my _brother_! I do not find him physically attractive! At all!

"No, Mandy. I draw the line at the shower." I stated quickly before zipping back into the bathroom in order to finish my shower.

I hadn't always thought that hiding my relation to Danny was the only way to keep away from users. My first plan had been horribly painful and had gone seriously wrong.

After the initial pain from my best friend betraying me and being used by the school queen, I decided that it wasn't my fault. It was Danny's and everything that was attached to McFly. My logic was very immature, but it made sense at the time. In the end, I decided to smudge all ties I had with Danny, which pretty much ruined our relationship for a good year or so. I still feel guilty for my actions whenever Danny accidentally brings it up, but he says that he understands.

I had to apologize a few time to Danny's band mates as well. The countless times I rudely spoke to them for the first year I knew them was embarrassing to even think about. They all thought that I was the brattiest girl they had ever met… it took quite a lot of apologies for them to finally start liking me.

Dougie, the bands bassist, was the easiest to win over. He was such a shy guy at first that he was willing to do or say anything to get everyone to like him. Harry, the drummer, was next. He could be a very serious guy sometimes and he understood that I wasn't kidding when I expressed my regret for my actions.

Tom, the one who had proposed the idea to Danny in the first place was the hardest to convince. It wasn't even because he thought I didn't mean my apology, but it was because he felt like he _deserved _my anger. He felt bad for tearing out family apart! I nearly died laughing when I heard that. He could be the nicest guy. Sometimes too nice – he'd rather hurt himself then allow others to feel the pain.

Somehow, I still feel like I don't deserve their forgiveness.

So, after I figured out that taking my anger out on Danny wasn't the answer, I decided to come up with a Plan: B.

How could I keep the people who would use me to get to Danny away? How could I meet people and learn to trust them without having the fear that it wasn't really _me_ they wanted to know?

Easy.

For the past four years I have never once told the public that I was Danny Jones's sister. None of my university friends, none of my professors, and none of the people I work with know my relation to the famous pop star.

I actually like my plan. Why would I ever go and flaunt Danny around anyway? Sure, if someone comes up to me and asks if he is my brother, I won't flat-out deny it, but I've never actually confirmed their questions.

I'm barely ever asked anyway.

"You almost done, Em? We have class soon!" I heard Amanda call through the door. Sighing, I turned the water off and jumped out. Here we go again…

As the day wore on I began to loosen up. I went to my classes, hung out with my friends, and did my homework like every other normal person out there. I always found it funny how when you're just like everyone else, you wish that there was something to define yourself from them. Then, if something happens or changes, you immediately wish for everything to be back to the way it was.

Though I'd never wish that Danny never made it into McFly. It's where he belongs. It's always been hard for me to grasp though; my brother being the star of many girls' dreams. I'm not sure if I like that aspect of his popularity that much.

But who am I to complain? It's his life. He's never once mentioned any regret with the band. He enjoys it so much! But… he knows how to deal with all the users. What am I supposed to do? Tell them to just fuck off?

"Em, have you been listening at all?" I looked away from the view of the rain through the window and across the room to my friends Jacob and Andrea. After my classes got out I would almost always hang out in Andrea's dorm, and her boyfriend would always chill with us.

I enjoyed out conversations. They were always completely out there. I knew more about those two guys then I knew about any of my elementary friends.

"Oh, sorry. I zoned out. What's going on?" I asked as I sipped at my soda. Andrea rolled her eyes and smiled while Jacob let out a frustrated sigh.

"How had you missed that? Jake was nearly screaming." Andrea whispered in my ear as her boyfriend started his rant once again.

"I just can't stand all of this pop culture, you know? All they're doing is scamming little girls out of their parents' money by putting pretty-boys on backpacks and folders because they sing songs about love and all that stuff. Seriously, they music isn't even that _good_! It's just setting the kids up for society dependence and peer pressure. If you don't have it, you're not cool! If you're not into it, then you're just weird. Seriously, it makes me so mad!" Jake ran his hands through his auburn hair while shaking his head. I rolled my eyes, glancing over at Andrea for support. She was shaking her head as well, though she chose to not argue with him on the subject.

I decided to step in then.

"Jake, I totally get what you're saying about things like High School Musical and the bands that Disney promotes, but there really are people out there who enjoy that music." I stated, trying to not upset him. He could be slightly biased sometimes.

"But that's the thing! They don't really _like _it! It's the media and society putting up a front. No one can actually stand that crap!"

"I don't know. Personally, I'd rather listen to other things besides The Jonas Brothers but those kinds of bands start kids out into venturing to find themselves. I remember that my first favorite band was Back Street Boys. Do I look corrupt?"

"No… but you're not everyone, are you? All I know is that my kids will never listen to that stuff. I'll educate their music taste. The Beatles, The Ramones, Radiohead, and… well you know what I mean. Good stuff." He seemed proud of his finishing statement. Again, Andrea and I shared a look. He was talking about having _kids_. "Little McFly bouncing heads… no daughter of mine would be into that. Not like your crazy roommate."

I felt the urge to defend both Amanda and McFly in the same go. Would I ever escape it? With Amanda I was constantly seeing my brothers smiling face and with my best friends I heard continuous contradiction. How could I defend them if I couldn't even admit the _truth _to them?

"You do know that The Beatles were pop, right?" I asked just to be annoying. Jake rolled his eyes and laughed just as Andrea stepped in, voicing her own concerns.

"And I don't know what kids you're talking about, Jake. Something you need to tell me?" She laughed as she took my empty cup and refilled it. Jake laughed and pulled her into his lap, kissing her lightly on the neck.

I sighed, looking away from their private moment. I was definitely going to crack at some point if things didn't change. And soon.


	3. Chapter 3

I APOLOGIZE! Seriously. I don't know about you guys, but it feels like I've been rather late with my updates for this story. Really, I have excuses.

**Any of you know who Fred Phelps is? If you don't, just type his name into google or your preferred search engine. This guy is mother trucking insaneeee!!!**

**He had a protest kind of close to where I live. It was about an hour and half drive from my school and I actually SKIPPED school to go to it. I mean, my mom knew so that was fine. **

**It was awesome btw. I went with my schools GSA and seriously, me and like… two of my friends were the only straight people there but everyone could FEEL THE LOVE on our side of the picket. I'm still on some weird high right now from just being there…. **

**ANYWAY. Here's the update. I'M SORRY!!! =[**

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I sat up straighter in my Biology class as I felt my cell phone vibrating from inside my pocket. In what I hoped was a casual manner, I pulled my phone out to check who was calling me, keeping one eye on my profession to make sure he couldn't see me.

Dan Cell

Was it really such a shocker? I had learned on some random T.V. show that the more you think about something, the more it would appear in your life. It was some kind of Positive Thinking television show. I must've been home sick or something…

I slid my phone back into my pocket without answering. Being in the middle of a Biology exam made it kind of difficult to hold a phone conversation. Whatever he had to say could easily wait.

Two minutes later my pants vibrated again. I heard a chuckle from behind me and I looked over my shoulder briefly to spy George, the most perverted kid ever, sitting behind me. The disgusting smirk on his face caused me to grimace and turn back around while pulling my phone out of my pocket again.

Txt From: Dan Cell

**Message: Call me soon**

So he had something important to say? I hated to say it, but my biology exam was probably just a bit more important… unless our parents were hurt or something. If that was the case then I would completely understand.

God, now I'm worried.

I finished my exam in a rush, bursting out of hall as soon as I handed the pages into my professor. I swung my messenger bag over my shoulder in haste while speed dialing Danny back.

_"Hey Em! How's it going?" _

"Dan, what was with the weird text? You've got me freaking out."

_"Freaking? No, it's nothing to worry about. What did you think it was?" _

"Oh you know, mum or dad dying… or Mc- The band breaking up… something horribly concerning." I had almost slipped in a public space. I glanced around the halls, students lining the walls casually as they spoke with one another. That was very, very close.

_"You think very negatively, don't you? You need to be happier, Love. Think about normal girl things… like ponies and rainbows and stuff."_

I stopped walking for a moment, nearly stunned. Did he really just say that?

"Did you really just say that? I think I may need to castrate you just so you'll really know what we girls think about."

_"I would prefer not, actually. How about you just write me a nice letter? I promise I'll read it."_

"Right, Dan. Anyway, what was your urgent text about anyway? I need to know if I really need to kill you or not for probably making me fail my Bio exam."

_"Oh… you were taking a test?"_

"You bet, my brother."

_"Hm… my bad. Anyway, I actually wanted to let you know that we're touring again."_

"Dan, I'm definitely going to kill you. I _knew _that, you git."

_"I was just testing you. The real news is that they guys and I are touring, and our next gig is right down the road from your school and is only in two days. I've got you some extra tickets to come give me a visit. Sound cool?" _

My heart dropped as I heard Danny's proposal. People from my school would be at this gig. Amanda would obviously be there. Could I visit him that close to my home?

_"Emily?"_

"Sorry, just thinking. Um… sure I'd like to visit you." Would I be eating my own words?

_"Fantastic! I'll leave two or three passes with Frank. You remember him, right? Our bouncer? Just go up to him and tell him your name. He'll give you and your friends passes to come in." _

"Um, Dan, it might be just me."

_"Oh. Um, what about your roommate? Didn't you say that she was a fan?"_

"She's… yes. But um, you see, she's _actually _not… here." Could I be any worse of a liar?

_"Bummer. Oh well. Just you is fine then. It might not be best if you come before the show, since we'll be working most of the day. Right after the gig, if you come back stage, that would be great." _He sounded hopeful as we planned. I couldn't deny him anything, could I?

"I'll be there, Dan. I've got to go now, though. It's lunch time and I could eat everything in this room _including _the people." I laughed as I entered the cafeteria. Many of the people around me gave me amused looks and turned away. Wasn't I just entertaining?

_"Awesome. I'll see you soon, Em!"_

"Cheers." I smiled into the phone and hung up. I really did love him, didn't I?

I shoved my phone back into my pocket as I gathered my lunch. Meal Plans were God's greatest invention. How had I survived before college?

After piling massive amounts of food onto my tray and scouting out a table, I pulled out my Biology notes to go over some of my test answers. One time for Halloween, Danny made me be Hermione. Wonder why?

"Hey, Beautiful. Are you still vibrating?" I groaned before looking up to meet George's gaze. Just looking at him made me want to throw on a thousand sweaters and never take them off.

"Was that supposed to be a pick up line?" I retorted, disgusted.

"Depends. Did it work?" His smile never left his face.

"George, I don't know if you get this, but I'm _not _flirting with you right now." I stated, realizing that just a hint wouldn't be enough for him. I watched as his smile faltered a bit, just to be replaced by an even dirtier grin.

"I like girls who play hard to get. It makes everything better in the end." He pulled out the chair opposite me and made to sit down, but I stuck my leg out.

"George, you've never gotten anything in your life. Take a hike before I sick my overly jealous, overly buff boyfriend on you." Did my threat sound convincing? Probably not. But would the intent of my statement reach through his thick skull to his small brain? Again, probably not.

"George! What're you doing here? I thought you were still in the hospital because of that bad herpes incident?" I laughed out loud as Amanda danced gracefully over to my table. She was so little and innocent that her teasing didn't come out nearly as threatening as it was meant. It still had the same impact.

He didn't seem pleased as he sulked away, mumbling something about teases. Where did that boy get off?

"Thanks, Mandy. He's been bugging me all morning." I rolled my eyes as she took the seat opposite me instead. She was a much preferable table partner then George ever was.

"No problem, my friend. It's all in a days work." She smiled happily before tucking into her soup. I watched her for a moment, knowing that I would soon regret my words, but I owed her. It would make her happy…

"Hey Amanda?" I asked, trying to stop myself but not having enough will power.

"Hm?"

"You know that McFly gig that's coming up?" I asked, trying to buy myself some time. I could still get out of it…

"Oh my gosh, yes! Tickets were so expensive! I was so bummed when they sold out. How did you hear about it?" She asked, looking curious.

"Well… I have this… old friend… who knows some of the guys. She has a few extra tickets for me. You want to go?" There. The words were out. I couldn't take them back.

It was silent for a few moments before I noticed her face turning purple.

"Breathe, Amanda!"

"Oh!" She let out a long breath, staring at me incredulously.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine." Amanda stared at me, happiness radiating from every inch of her body. "I would absolutely LOVE to go. I'll even take down the McFly picture from the bathroom. And under the toilet seat. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed as she reached across the table to hug me. I laughed and patted her back, pulling away slightly.

"What picture under the toilet seat?"


	4. Chapter 4

Hm… I don't know what's going on with my uploads. They've been coming out kind of wrong. Like… things I have bolded or centered don't come out that way on Fanfiction… Weird. Maybe it was just a glitch?

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. It makes me happy to come just to see one more review. Just one! I don't know, but I love it. =]

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I definitely have some kind of word filtration problem. Or maybe my life is just a problem. Whatever it is, what the _hell _was I thinking inviting Amanda to a McFly concert? That's like… inviting a dog into a room full of bones and being naïve enough to believe that he won't want to eat any of them.

So obviously I have serious problems.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so excited! Are you excited? Look, I'm shaking!" Amanda held her hand out directly in front of my face in order for me to view her tremors. I fixed my gaze on her, only slightly appalled. She was shaking? They were _just _a band.

"Calm down, Mandy. We'll be going in soon and the bouncer will think you're on some kind of drug. Just… breathe." I instructed her, hoping my words would reach her brain some how.

"Calm? Okay, I can do calm. Calm is what I can do. I am _calm._" I let her repeat her mantra a few times to herself while I ran the game plan through my head again.

Amanda and I were going to be your average, normal McFly fans. Well… at least I would be. There was nothing important, special, or interesting about our love of McFly. We would reach Frank, the bouncer, and I would repeat my name quietly to him. Wordlessly, he would hand over our tickets and passes and from there we would congregate with the rest of the McFly world in the concert hall. I would allow Amanda her spazz-time while we watched their performance. I would stare proudly up at Danny while he did his thing and then we would leave.

No backstage meetings. Danny would be very disappointed but I had to make an executive decision. Amanda would most likely die if I told her that our passes were backstage worthy.

"Emily Jones." The first part of my plan was going perfectly. Frank smiled down at me in a familiar manner and handed over two sets of tickets and passes. Amanda and I thanked him and continued our way into the venue. I tagged behind my roommate in a very tolerant manner as she made her way to the merchandise stand. I could already see the amounts of money rolling my brother's way coming straight out of her pocket.

In the end, she purchased almost one of everything. She didn't buy any of their albums because she already owned them all. She was very good about not wasting, wasn't she?

Half an hour later everyone began filing into the general admission standing area. Amanda proved to be very strong for such a little girl and pushed us nearly all the way to the front. I had to admit, it was quite hilarious seeing this little girl fight her way passed masses of fans nearly twice her size. It put me in a very good mood.

"Oh gosh, Em, I am so excited! I can't believe that I'm finally seeing them live! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment?" Amanda turned to face her, her entire features glowing.

"Oh… I don't know. Maybe since you first heard them?" I humored her, smiling lightly.

"How'd you know? Seriously, you are one lucky chick. It's awesome you have connections to them. How come you've never mentioned it before?" I was about to respond with some nonchalant lie right before all of the lights in the venue went out, casting the entire audience into complete darkness.

The crowed roared in cheers of delight. It was slightly ironic, because normally people scream out of fear when it's dark. These girls loved it though.

Seconds later with a bing-bang-boom, the guys of McFly appeared on stage, smiling widely into the crowd. The smile on my face couldn't have been wider as I watched Danny, Tom, and Dougie walk forward to the set microphones, waving happily to the screaming crowd.

Part of me wanted Danny to glance down at me, call out wildly to the world that I had come, and then pull me on stage for a big hug. The other part of me wanted to run and hide to make sure that my first hope could never happen.

_"Hey everyone! How're you all doing tonight? Nice weather we're having. I'm surprised! You all enjoying school and such?" _Dougie, their bassist, was speaking into his microphone, looking in the crowd as though we were his best friends.

_"Doug, none of them want to talk about school or the weather." _Danny shot back, giving Dougie a teasing smile.

_"How would you know, Dan? You can barely hold a conversation with yourself, let alone a fellow human being." _Tom, Danny's duel guitarist, laughed while rolling his eyes animatedly.

_"Shut your mouth, Thomas. Start singing instead." _Danny laughed and I felt my ears literally explode as they suddenly burst into song.

I never got tired of going to their gigs. I knew all of their songs like the back of my hand, but it just seemed to never get old. They were just so in sync with one another… it always sounded better then the recorded version.

Halfway through the set I started to forget about all my worries. Yes, Danny was my famous brother, but it didn't matter to anyone else in the world. All of the people in the room could know for all I cared, but it didn't even matter.

My senses came through to me as Danny's eyes finally met mine. They lit up with a bright smile and he winked, signaling that he knew it was me.

I smiled back, pushing one of my fingers over my lips, signaling my own secret message. He knew I didn't like being put on the spot and I really didn't want him doing anything stupid like announcing my presence at his gig. I wouldn't put the embarrassment past him.

The girls surrounding me screamed and giggled as he winked again, whispering excitedly to one another as their song ended.

"Did you see that? I think he winked at me!" Amanda spun around excitedly, looking up at me for confirmation.

"Definitely." I agreed, allowing her some excitement. It wasn't like I could say 'no, it was actually to me.' How weird would that be?

As the concert came to a wrap, Danny's good mood affected the entire hall. Everyone exited the venue with content smiles permanently placed across their faces as they made their way back to their cars. Amanda and I were walking, causing anxiety to suddenly wash through me. What if we couldn't get away fast enough?

"I think we should go. All these cars on the street will cause traffic. We'll want to beat it." The serious tone to my voice caused Amanda's smile to falter slightly, though she complied easily and picked up her pace.

We made it back to our dorm in great time and without getting caught by my brother or his friends. Guilt found a nice little place in my heart as Danny's name lit up on my phone as he called me again and again. I was really a bad sister, wasn't I?

Amanda crawled into her bed, all of her new McFly possessions lying around her comfortably. I sat on my bed and stared at my phone as the different numbers flashed across the screen.

Danny

**Harry**

**Tom**

**Danny**

**Danny**

**Dougie**

Guilt had never hurt me so much. I knew that answering and explaining myself was the best option, but I couldn't bring myself to press the little green button. I could already hear the explanations running through my mind and none of them seemed legitimate enough to give to Danny. I'd rather he just be mad at me.

And I knew he was mad. But I also knew he was worried. There was nothing for him to worry about, yet here I was putting him through hell. I could text him just so he knew I was okay.

But then that would start an entirely new wave of attempts to reach me. He could wait till morning for my call, couldn't he?

I had definitely let him down. Here he was, on tour for weeks at a time, reaching out to see me. And then me, the stupidly selfish sister, pushing him away to protect my own needs.

I was too human for my own good.

Silently, I slid the keyboard of my phone open and sent him a text.

To: Dan Cell

**Message: Everything's fine. I'll call tomorrow. Love ya. **

I knew that I wasn't off the hook. I wouldn't allow it. Forgiveness was the last thing on my mind, really. I just wanted him to understand that it had nothing to do with him. I should've gone to meet him. We hadn't seen each other face to face in months. I was just a sucky sister.

After I turned my phone off, I slid into bed and listened to Amanda's deep breaths, timing my own to her slow pulls of air. Soon enough, I was dragged into the waves of sleep as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**[This is all bolded and centered.] Is it really though? Hm? Who knows?**

**Anyway, as I fight with Fanfiction I also want to thank you all for the reviews. They're lovely. I love reading them and responding to them… gah I just LOVE it. **

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I woke up the next morning in a slightly unusual way. At first I wasn't even sure if I was awake or not. The loud banging and calling out didn't quite register to me as anything apart from a dream. I was growing impatient, wondering why the noise wouldn't stop and why it was calling my name. Were my dreams trying to tell me something?

When I heard Amanda groan in her bed across the room, reality started to sink in once again. As I pulled myself out of my deep slumber, a few things clearly registered in my head. One: Amanda could sleep through a bombing. Two: It was only two in the morning. Three: I recognized the deep northern voice calling my name.

I dashed out of my bed, nearly tripping over my blankets as they tangled themselves around my ankles, refusing to release me. Danny's banging and yelling couldn't have been going on for long, seeing as security hadn't come to chuck him out. I tried to quickly and quietly untangle myself from my bed, hoping to reach Danny before he caused more noise.

After I freed myself and double-checked to make sure that Amanda was asleep, I ran across our room and wrenched open the door, resulting in a slightly intoxicated brother of mine to fall into my room.

I caught him before he could crash into me or the floor, struggling to stand him back up on his own feet. Clearly, I had to still be dreaming. There was no way Danny would come to my dorm room, especially at such an ungodly hour. My panic attack felt way to real to be a dream, however.

"Danny what are you _doing _here!" I whispered loudly as I sat him on a chair and shut the door. His eyes were squinted together and he continuously shook his head back and forth, as though trying to clear it. I didn't want to risk turning the light on and possibly waking Amanda up, even though it would've been helpful to see my brother. He could've been hurt or something.

"Why didn't you come tonight?" He asked, his words sounding angry and drunken. I could tell that it wasn't really Danny speaking, but the alcohol… though he would've thought it anyway, even without the substance. It wasn't like he was possessed or something. This was just Danny without a filter.

"I did come tonight." I whispered, hoping his loud voice would go down a few notches. "I watched you guys play and everything. You saw me."

"Yeah, I saw you. Why didn't you come back stage? We waited for you." His tone was still demanding as he awaited his answer.

"Gosh Danny do we really need to discuss this right now? My roommate is _sleeping _if you hadn't noticed." I sighed, pointing over my shoulder to my comatose friend.

"Oh." Realization dawned on his face as he realized we weren't alone. "My bad…"

"Yeah… how about we talk tomorrow, okay? It's no big deal, Dan. I swear. Just… you need to leave!" I was urgently whispering, hoping he'd take the hint and go.

"Why?" Danny sounded slightly offended that I was trying to kick him out. It wasn't something he was very used to.

"Why? Danny, my roommate who is awkwardly obsessed with you is literally five steps away. She'll have a heart attack if we wake her."

"She'll probably just think she's dreaming." Danny sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face, his own eyes closing sleepily.

"Oh no, no, no. You don't get tired here. You can get tired back on your tour bus with your friends. Not here." I stated, terrified.

Remorse washed through me as a subtly hurt expression landed upon my brother's face. This was a side of me that he wasn't used to at all. I was normally very accommodating and welcoming, but here I was kicking him out of my own home.

"What's gotten into you, Em? Why are you being so weird?" He asked, sounding slightly rude. Again, it was probably the alcohol running through his system that made him say it, but it still annoyed me just the same.

"Why am _I _being so weird? Dan, I didn't show up at _your _tour bus at three o'clock in the fucking morning demanding attention. No, _I _respect the fact that _you _need sleep and have your own life!" I snapped, flustered.

"Fine. I'll leave then." He jumped up from his seat, glaring at me.

"No… wait, Dan…" I didn't want him to leave on angry terms. When people part, they normally return to one another feeling the same way about the person when they separated. If he left angry, he would remain angry.

"Em, what are you saying? Should I leave or not? This is getting ridiculous. I came here to check on you because you wouldn't answer any of my bloody phone calls. I thought you were angry or pissed or something… I don't know." He ranted, throwing his hands in the air with emphasis.

And still my roommate slept.

"Just… I'm sorry, Dan. Let's just talk it all over tomorrow, okay? I'm sorry." I said, knowing that I had to be the one to apologize first. I had been the one who messed up, after all.

Danny sighed while running his fingers through his sweaty curly hair. I'd always preferred his hair curly.

"Yeah… I'm sorry too. I'll call you in the morning, okay? We're here till about noon tomorrow and then we've got five more shows for tour. How about breakfast?" He mumbled, still looking hopeful.

"Sounds good… though I would prefer to not have to dine with a hung over Danny."

He smiled a crooked smiled, sticking his tongue out lazily.

"Drunk? I ain't no drunk." He rolled his eyes, heading for the door. "Though Tom's got an awesome cure for hangovers. One time when you come over I'll tell you… or maybe not. I don't like the thought of my little sister drinking-" As Danny spoke he'd walked to the door, readying himself to leave. I hadn't noticed exactly what kind of shape he was in until he pulled the door open and smacked himself in the head with it.

"Danny!" I gasped as he staggered backwards and fell, unconscious, onto my bed.

Oh my fucking god.

What was I supposed to do? I should call an ambulance, right? Or wake him up? But what if it was just the alcohol plus a bit of head trauma that did it to him? No real problem?

I noticed that I'd forgotten to breathe and I took one deep, staggered breath. Almost instinctually, I reached into Danny's pocket and pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. The last person who'd called had been Tom, which was less then an hour before Danny showed up in my dorms.

Tom would still be awake, right?

I hit the send button and listened to it ring a few times. Almost automatically, Tom answered sounding annoyed.

_"Dan, seriously get your ass here now. Em will kill you if you get to her-"_

"Tom, it's Emily." I whispered, realizing that Amanda still managed to remain asleep.

_"Emily? Oh god, he's there isn't he? I'm so sorry… We had a few after the concert and he seemed determined to find out where you were and… He didn't even take a car or anything…"_

"Tom, I don't know what to do! He just smacked his head really hard on the door and now he's passed out and I'm not sure who to call and-"

_"Wait… he really hit his head on the door?"_

"That's what I said, right?" I asked, confused.

_"Oh my god. He… actually… hit…" _ I rolled my eyes as I listened to Tom laugh hysterically. _"I never thought it would happen!"_

"This may seem very funny to you, but I'm kind of freaking out here!" I said, bringing him back to being serious.

_"Yeah, sorry. Okay, I'll be there in moment. There's no way you can handle him by yourself." _

"Thanks Tom, you're just full of compliments tonight, aren't you?"

_"Oh you know me, Emily." _ I could hear him smiling on his end. The thought made me smile as well.

"Whatever. You'll need to be quiet getting in though, my roommates still knocked out but she's a pretty big fan. She'd probably wake up the rest of the building if she found you two here." I warned him, glancing over at Amanda as I spoke. She groaned for a moment, and then rolled over to change her position. Danny did the same thing.

"Oh! Danny moved." I sighed, slightly grateful. Now I knew he wasn't dead.

_"That's usually a good thing." _Tom laughed before hanging up. It was going to be an interesting night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hallo. Ich liebe dich. Du bist mega schon. **

**Haha isn't my German just wonderful? **

**Enjoy some cute Fletcher time.**

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A very long ten minutes later I heard a small rapping on my door. I jumped up from my position on the bed next to Danny to swing open the wooden entryway. Tom stood, looking tired and disheveled on the other side.

"Hey, thanks for coming." I sighed quietly, opening the door wider for him to enter. We walked in silence through the dark room to my unconscious brother. I glanced over at Tom for a moment, instinctually taking in his appearance. Out of all of the men I knew, Tom was one of the only guys I knew who could actually pull off the just-got-out-of-bed look. His blue checkered pajama pants clung to his hips loosely, matching his slightly too big black Star Wars shirt. His blonde hair flew around his head, falling shaggily across his brown eyes. I shook my head, looking away. I shouldn't even tempt myself.

A small smile crept onto the blondes face as he looked down at his friend. I resisted the urge to laugh as well, realizing that the situation was quite hilarious.

"How do I wake him up?" I asked, looking at Tom for some kind of direction.

"You know, I've been thinking that exact question every day since the day I met him." Tom replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought you'd have some crazy sister wisdom and would teach me your ways."

"Well, even if I did have such powers, I would never share them with those not worthy."

"Ouch, and to think I thought you were nice." Tom laughed as he sat down in the folding chair I had sat next to my bed. I rolled my eyes and sat on the beanbag next to him, slightly frustrated by the fact that there really was no way of rousing Danny.

"Well… I can't just let him sleep in my bed for the rest of the night. Amanda could wake up or the dorm supervisor could walk in…" I stated, a bit angry.

"He only came here because he was worried, Em."

Oh great, Tom was on Danny's side. Now, instead of just having an angry brother in the room, I had two angry McFly boys. I should've never gone to the concert.

"Well he didn't need to. I told him I was fine." Even to me, my defense seemed ridiculous. I wanted to yell back in my face that I was wrong. Stop talking.

"Can you blame him though? When he's home from tour he's literally a ten minute drive from here, yet you guys still never see each other even then. He misses you." I could tell that I'd struck some kind of nerve with the guitarist, and I wished that I could've taken my words back.

"I know… and I'm sorry…" I didn't know how to finish my sentence without explaining my secret plan to Tom. He'd probably think I was the weirdest person ever if I told him the truth.

"It doesn't matter, Em. Just… don't be mad with him, all right? He's just being Danny." Tom smiled down at me as he folded his arms across his chest.

I sighed, knowing he was right. Tom was always right.

"Well, while we wait for sleeping beauty to rise, want to watch a movie?" I asked, nodding my head in the direction of my small television. Tom glanced at it for a moment and smiled, nodding his head.

"What do you have?" He asked as we moved across the room to the small couch Amanda and I found while dumpster diving. We preferred the more exclusive term of treasure hunting, though.

I pulled out our little draw of DVDs, allowing Tom the privilege of choosing. I sat back on the couch silently and watched as he quietly chose a brightly colored box. Was it bad if I thought his boxers looked cute peeking out from underneath his P.J. pants? Yes. It was definitely bad. I needed to stop looking.

He slid a movie into the player and hit the small green triangle, starting the movie. I waited patiently to discover which film we were watching.

After the previews finished I clapped a hand over my mouth to resist laughing. Tom had picked Madagascar, one of my favorite little kid movies.

"Seriously, Tom?" I laughed quietly as he got up to hit play again. Some time ago Amanda and I lost our remote control. So what? The little bit of exercise from the couch to the T.V. was good for us.

"Hey, I have a secret love for those little penguins." Tom responded seriously as he sat back down on the couch next to me.

"Well, I have a secret love for talking animals. Even though… technically a zebra would never be best friends with a lion."

"Oh yes, that's your greatest worry isn't it? That a carnivore befriends an herbivore? Completely forget the fact that those little penguins could completely take over the world. That's not a concerning point at all."

"They're highly entertaining, actually. I wouldn't mind bowing down to them one day."

"That's what you say now, Em. Just wait, when they have you fetching their little sardines you'll wonder whatever happened to those talking lions and zebras. Why oh why couldn't they have been rulers of the world instead?"

"Because then we'd be cowering in fear of the lions and the zebras would give us migraines with all of their crazy stripes."

Tom laughed, shaking his head. I laughed quietly as well, hoping that our talking and the flashing colors of the T.V. wouldn't wake our unconscious friends.

"Just watch the film, Emily."

As the movie went on, my body started to register the fact that it was nearly three in the morning. My eyes started to droop and my head fell against the back of the couch comfortably. I turned my body sideways, pulling my feet up to my chest and hugging them to me. I managed to hold that position for a while until the joints of my hips started to ache.

"Tom?" I whispered, peeking an eye open. He glanced away from the T.V. to me, looking curious.

"Yeah?"

"Could I put my legs across you?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. He nodded his head and I sighed, grateful.

I stretched my legs out across his lap, my sock clad feet resting upon his armrest. His arms snaked over my legs, holding them closer to his torso. Content with my new position, I closed my eyes and allowed my self a few moments of sleep.

What felt like a millisecond later, I woke up. I peeked one of my eyes open to glance at the television. The final scene was still in action, assuring me that I hadn't been asleep for too long.

I tried to think of what could've woken me up. Normally I sleep straight through the night and rarely found myself awake.

As I was thinking, I felt something gently brush the ankle of my left leg. I froze, realizing that this must've been what woke me up. I waited, wondering if it would happen again.

Sure enough, two fingers traced the design on my pajamas, sliding gently over the bone of my ankle. I held my breath, realizing that the feeling was sending shivers and goose bumps all over my body.

Was it weird that I kind of liked the feeling on my leg? It was soft and comforting, almost sending me back to sleep. Why was Tom being so gentle? So as not to wake me up? Or was I just interpreting it wrong? Was it just a draft?

I peeked over my shoulder quickly to spy Tom's concentration completely fixed upon my leg. He looked content and patient sitting there, absentmindedly tracing the small curves and swirls on my pajamas. I closed my eyes, not wanting to interrupt him.

Except… a moment later I felt him stop his movement completely. He lifted my legs off of his lap and placed them down on the couch after he stood up. He draped one of our throw blankets over me and walked away. I'll admit, I felt a little bit rejected until I heard him quietly whispering Danny's name.

I listened as Danny responded after a moment, confused and tired. Tom whispered a few explaining words to my brother as he led him to the door.

"We've got to go now, Dan. We don't want to wake them." I heard the door snap shut behind them, and it occurred to me that the night was over. I was alone with my roommate, like normal.


	7. Chapter 7

ANNNNDDD another chapter. Woohoo! I've gotten one a day up for the past week or so! I'm actually kind of proud. =]

************

"I had the _weirdest _dream last night." I looked up from my cereal as Amanda sat across from me. Her face resembled what one's features may look like after seeing a ghost or an alien. I furrowed my eyebrows, worried and concerned.

"What happened?"

It was all the initiative she needed to start her story. I listen carefully, completely shocked as she spoke.

"I think it was just because we went to see them last night, though. They say that your dreams just reflect your major thoughts and concerns, so that must be why they appeared in my dream. Seriously, I've never actually _dreamed _about them before. How odd that Danny Jones appeared in our room. Why one earth would I ever think that?" She laughed, biting into her apple.

"It is quite weird." I agreed, letting out a long breath. Had she been aware the entire time? Thank god her innocent brain was easily swayed.

"I know! Gosh, maybe I shouldn't go to their gigs any more. It kind of freaks me out that I _dream _about them. But… oh gosh, last night was amazing, Em. I don't know how I can ever thank you. That was like… every Christmas, every birthday, and every Valentine's Day wrapped into one." I laughed and smiled, pleased that at least one of us enjoyed the evening.

"So what are you doing today?" Amanda asked after a moment. "Hanging with Andrea and Jake?"

"Actually, no… I'm meeting someone for breakfast." I laughed, realizing that I'd have to eat again. Why had I gotten cereal if I knew that I had to meet Danny?

"Interesting… the reason your eating now isn't to make it seem like you barely eat anything when you meet up with him, is it?" She asked, looking a bit angry.

"What? No. I'm just really hungry. And how did you know it was a him?" I asked, curious.

Amanda rolled her brown eyes as though it was obvious. "You just said you were meeting someone for breakfast. If it was a girl you would've said her name. Who is it?" Her eyes lit up at the thought of something interesting happening.

"You don't know him." I replied, half lying. She did know him, just not personally.

"So he doesn't go to school here?" She seemed very shocked by this news. "When did you meet him?"

I sighed, slightly put off by all the questions. The best way to lie was to include as few details as possible. Now I had to tell her an entire _story_.

"Dan and I have known each other since we were little. I was supposed to meet up with him last night but you and I went to the concert instead. He's a bit peeved, actually." I said, wondering if I should've changed Danny's name. Would it give too much away?

"Oh… I'm sorry that you had to cancel plans for the concert. We could've skipped it-" I cut her off, shaking my head.

"No, I wanted to go. It was good. Dan will understand." I shrugged my shoulders as I cleared up my plate. "I must be off now, though. If I cancel on him twice he might kill me." I laughed, ready to get out of there.

"All right, see you later then." Amanda chuckled silently as I quickly walked away from the table and deposited my cereal bowl onto the conveyer belt for cleaning. I made my way off campus quickly and determined, texting Danny as I walked.

We'd agreed on a small café a few blocks from my school, and I picked up the pace as I realized I might be a few minutes late. It was a rarely nice day for England weather, but I could still feel a nippy coldness seep through my jacket. I wanted in a warm building as soon as possible.

I arrived in good time, swinging open the door and jumping into the heated building very dramatically. A few on lookers seated close to the door gave me odd looks before going back to their laptops and meals. I sighed, looking around for my brother's familiar curly head.

"Em!" I turned around and spotted Danny in his public getup. I forgot that eating out was somewhat difficult for him, especially around schools. I made my way over to his table and sat across from him, examining his dark sunglasses and beanie.

"People are going to think you're crazy." I stated, smiling happily as I sat down. It was as though we both forgot the main reason we were out to breakfast as we settled into one another's company.

"I'd rather them think that then recognize me." He stated honestly as he nodded his head in the direction of the counter. "Did you order anything yet?"

"No, I just walked in."

"Let's go then."

We both left our stuff at the table and made our way to the counter. We ordered the basic breakfast food and the waitress assured us that it would be out in a few minutes.

"So…" Danny started as we took our seats once again. His eyes wouldn't meet my own as he sat rigidly in his chair, awkwardly facing away from me. My shoulders fell as I realized this was his hostile pose – he still hadn't forgiven me.

"So…" I sighed, realizing that I could no longer avoid the inevitable conversation. I was torn between wishing to run out of the café and wishing to get the conversation over with. Running away would save me from lying and feeling guilty, but it wouldn't get rid of whatever Danny was feeling. I couldn't do that to him.

"What happened last night, Em? I thought you wanted to visit me." Danny stated, looking down at his place and avoiding my eyes. He sounded upset and embarrassed, looking ashamed at the thought of me avoiding him. "We barely see each other when I'm home anyway… I miss seeing you."

"Danny, I love visiting you and the rest of the guys! I really wanted to go last night." I assured him, hoping he would hear the honesty in my voice.

"Then what was with the disappearing act? You could've at least told me ahead of time that you weren't coming." He looked angry as he pulled his head up and fixed his blue eyes directly on me. I was always slightly jealous that Danny got the pretty eyes in the family. Mine were a boring gray color, not really as pigment filled as his were.

"Honestly? I didn't really think you'd mind or freak out this much. I didn't mean to scare you… It's just…" I couldn't finish my statement. I didn't want to tell him the truth. How could I? It would hurt his feelings, especially because he hadn't been a huge fan of my Plan: A. I would have to lie, wouldn't I? Even if I didn't like it, it wouldn't hurt his feelings.

"Just what?"

"Well, I hadn't expected Amanda to be home in time for the concert… but she actually came home a day early. You remember, my obsessive roommate? She heard that I was going and I knew how much she loved you guys so I decided to bring her along. She… she didn't feel too well after the concert so we went home. I think it was all the screaming and jumping around that got to her. I didn't really think about it too much." I stated, shrugging my shoulders.

While I lied, I tried my hardest to not blame everything on Amanda. It wouldn't be fair to her… but it was easiest. It wasn't as though she would find out anyhow… but even if she never knew, I still didn't like it on my conscience.

"Oh… well, is she okay now? I didn't wake her up or anything last night, right?" He asked, looking worried.

"Believe me, you would've known if you woke her up." I laughed lightly, shaking my head. "The entire building would've known."

"That loud, huh?"

"Very, very loud."

Danny nodded his head in understanding, a small smile spreading across his face. "I did catch a glimpse of her last night though. She's cute. Serious potential." His smirk grew wider as he spoke, probably thinking of different strategies to get into my room again. I glared at him playfully, daring him to try it.

"Danny! Don't even think about it!"

"What? Maybe I've got a thing for short haired brunettes."

"Is it just because you're a short haired brunette? You egotistical bastard."

"How'd you know?" His smile was completely evident upon his face, mirroring my own grin.

"Order's up." Our waitress dropped our plates in front of us gently as well as our drinks. I took a nice sip of my coffee, relishing the caffeine.

"That waitress ain't too bad looking either." I rolled my eyes and shoved a home fry in his face, effectively shutting him up.


	8. Chapter 8

So I've had a pretty fucking bad day today. This made me almost feel a thousand times better, even though it's nothing special.

**Enjoy.**

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I had never felt quite as happy as I did when I was walking home from the café. It never really registered with me how much I enjoyed joking around with Danny. The genes we got from our parents must've split between us; me being the worrier and he as the carefree child. We balanced each other out nicely, being each other's antidote to our busy schedules.

"Amanda, I'm back!" I called as I unlocked the door and entered our room. The lights were on and she was on our couch, watching a movie.

"Hey, how was it?" She asked, standing up and walking over to me with a wide smile on her face.

"Great. I forgot how much I missed talking to him." I smiled back, slightly confused as to why she seemed so happy. I was wondering if I should be worried or not as she walked into our suedo-kitchen area and pulled something out of the refrigerator.

My eyes grew wide as she placed a huge fruit basket on the table, her smile stretching across her face. I moved towards the basket, pulling the cellophane paper away to see the fruit more clearly.

Honeydew, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, pears… Gosh it looked delicious.

"Who's this from?" I asked, smiling widely at her. It wasn't her birthday or anything, right? I would've known.

"It's for you. I don't know who sent it." She gestured to the card in the middle of the arranged fruit with my name scrawled in an elegant script.

"For me?" Confusion rippled through me as I pulled the small card off of the small plastic holder. It wasn't _my _birthday, right? I definitely would've known.

"Who's it from?" She asked, looking excited. I shook my head, neatly folding back the small white envelope.

To: Miss Emily Jones

_**From: Mister Thomas Fletcher**_

_**Sorry for the rough night. Hope to see you soon - Tom**_

I stared in shock at the card, a small smile spreading across my face. Tom had sent me a basket of fruit. _Tom _sent me _fruit_.

"Well?" I looked up as Amanda spoke, growing impatient.

"Oh… um, just a friend." The small smile still played across my face as I slid the card back into the envelope.

"A friend, huh? Maybe a male friend?" She asked, looking curious.

"Maybe." I replied, smiling mysteriously as I pulled a honeydew slice out of the basket. "Maybe not."

"Oh come on, Em! You've got to tell me! You never have guys over even though you're totally cute and you totally deserve it. Is it someone on campus? I can't think of any guys on campus who are actually sweet enough to send fruit. Normally they're all stupid flower senders."

"Flower senders?"

"Yeah, you know. The generic rose bouquet only to be sent when they're apologizing for calling you fat or something like that. The fruit is a new thing." She nodded her head, pulling out a pear slice.

"Hm…" I considered her words, wondering if the fruit had any hidden meaning. He said that he hoped to see me soon… Normally I never hung out with the other McFly guys unless Danny was there. But maybe that's what Tom meant. He hoped to see me soon around Danny's or something.

Why were guys so confusing?

"So who's it from?" Amanda asked again, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Um… his name is Tom." I stated, stuffing the card into my pocket. She would definitely know who it was if she saw his full name.

"Ooh, not Dan? He's got some competition." She smiled, eating her pear.

"Dan's not like that." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "We're like brother and sister."

"Mhm. That's what they all say, sister. Those are the guys who you end up marrying."

"Definitely not, my friend. Definitely not."

Amanda just laughed as she examined my fruit more thoroughly, pulling out a few slices for herself. "You have chocolate covered strawberries!" She squealed, pulling out a tennis ball sized strawberry from the basket.

"Woah!" I gasped, running over to her to examine the red berry.

"Dude, this is huge." She stated, staring at it lustfully.

"Are there any more in there?" I leaned over, sifting through the fruit.

"Found one." She pulled it out, handing it over to me.

We examined our enormous chocolate strawberries, not quite sure how to begin eating them.

"It's too big to eat." Amanda stated, tilting her head to the side.

"Haha, that's what she said." How could I resist being an immature teenager? That was a perfect set up.

"Oh, aren't you funny?" She rolled her eyes right before she randomly put her lips to the berry to take a big bite. "Oh my gosh! This is epically amazing!"

I followed her example of biting into the berry and found my senses overwhelmed by the wonderful taste. Strawberry juice started running down my chin as I laughed and ate.

"Gah! I need a napkin!" I reached for a paper towel, patting up the chocolate strawberry mixture.

"This is indeed the best, biggest, yummiest chocolate strawberry I've ever eaten." Amanda stated, sighing happily. "You sure know how to pick your guys, Em."

I finished my strawberry in silence, considering her words. I didn't really pick Tom, did I? And the enormous strawberries could've easily been a nice friendly gesture.

"Hey, I forgot to mention, Andrea and Jake came looking for you earlier." Amanda stated, moving away from the counter to clean up the berry juice.

"Oh, thanks." I replied, feeling guilty that Amanda had to be my messenger.

Andrea and Jake were never too fond of my roommate sense they thought she was really immature and a trend follower. I defended Amanda quite a few times, but they wouldn't hear it. We all came to an easy consensus of just not speaking about her.

I called Andrea back and she asked me to come over to her room. I shouted a goodbye to Amanda who was munching into another strawberry before heading back out into the cold. I practically ran to Andrea's to get out of the annoying weather.

"Hey guys, what's doing?" I asked as I pulled myself out of my jacket once I entered Andrea's dorm. Jake was lolling lazily across her carpet, watching some mindless action film while Andrea entered the room with cookies in her hands.

"Not much. Cookie?" She laughed, offering me one. I happily took it from her hands and bit into the oatmeal raisin. My favorite!

"Yo, Emily! I heard you went to that McFly gig." Jake's voice shot up from the floor as I flopped on Andrea's bed. "What bet did you _lose_?" He laughed, sitting up.

"I didn't lose a bet." I scowled, feeling defensive. "How'd you hear I went anyway?"

"Your roommate. She wouldn't shut up about it. Jeez…" He rolled his eyes, sliding back onto the floor.

"Jake, we were there for like… a minute. She mentioned it once." Andrea scolded him, sending me an apologetic look.

"Still, why'd you go anyway? You're not deaf yet, are you?" He asked, looking at me quizzically.

"Jake, just because you think they suck doesn't mean we all do." I defended, feeling a familiar argument between Jake and I approaching.

"But Emily, you have more sense then that. You can't seriously tell me that you find their music _good_." He looked appalled.

"Jake, we've been over this before." Andrea cut in, sighing.

"You don't _agree _with her, do you?" Jake turned to his girlfriend, shocked.

"Well, no but-"

"See, Em?"

"Jake, you're being that obnoxious wannabe music critic again. Stop." I stated, shaking my head before I said something stupid.

"Oh come on, Emily. No one actually _likes _those guys! They're just money-makers!" He was growing angry, I could tell.

"That shows how much you know."

"You calling me stupid?"

"Well, _duh_."

"Guys!" Andrea broke in, looking angry herself. "We're not having this conversation again. You guys sound like little kids fighting on the playground."

Jake turned away angrily, going back to his movie. I decided to be the bigger man and ignore him completely as well.

"Good cookie, Andrea." I stated, stuffing the rest of it into my mouth.

"Says the McFly fan-girl." Jake mumbled, glaring over his shoulder at me.

"Okay, I'm leaving." I stated, standing up and pulling my jacket back on. "Seriously, I didn't come just to get yelled at for my taste in music." I flicked Jake off before exiting the dorm room. I heard Andrea calling after me but I ignored her.

Sometimes her boyfriend _really _pissed me off.


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, so I have this chapter and all the way to chapter 14 written out in word. I've hit a teeny tiny bump in the road so I've decided to just spend the next couple of days posting a chapter a day before writing any more out in word. Just know that once chapter 14 comes the updates will be more spread out… but by then I should at least have chapter 15 done…

**Haha but once chapter 15 is done I shouldn't have tiny writers block anymore! **

**Let me explain. I have a serious plan for this story. Like I know the climax and I know how I want it to end and EVERYTHING. It's just… **_**getting **_**to that point that I'm having trouble with. I don't want to rush it, you know? So I'm just a tad bit stuck. Don't worry I'll figure it out. **

**Gahhh long A/N. SORRY! Here's the story. **

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The next day, I did everything in my power to avoid running into Andrea and Jake. I wished that I could just tell them how proud I was of McFly and how I was related to Danny Jones and everything else that I hid from them. Half of me knew they wouldn't understand and didn't want to loose them. Was it pathetic that I still enjoyed their friendship?

"Hey Em? Did you ever call that Tom guy to thank him for the massive strawberries?" Amanda asked from her spot on her bed, looking over at me curiously. I glanced up from the paper I was writing, shooting a confused look in her direction.

"Um… no, actually. Should I?" Would he be expecting something?

"Well, I think so. It was quite sweet, wasn't it? Definitely a keeper, that one." She nodded her head, assuringly.

"But we're not together or anything."

"Do you want to be?" Her question took me off guard, shockingly. I had never once pictured myself with any of Danny's friends. They had all sort of been like friends of my own, just to joke with and hang around. Something inside me had always thought they'd be off limits anyway. Was it at all possible for Tom and I to be anything?

"Well… I never really thought about it-"

"I think he has though. I think he _likes_ you!" Amanda sang, smiling widely.

"But… things are a bit difficult with us. He's… friends with my brother." I stated, hoping to not give away too much information.

"You have a brother?" Amanda asked, confused.

"Yeah… and they're friends. Don't you think that'd be kind of awkward?" I asked, trying to distract her.

"Well, maybe your brother would give him blessings. If he thinks this guy is cool enough to be his friend then he should trust him enough to be with you."

"That's not what I'm worried about… Da-David can just be over protective sometimes." David - one of Danny's middle names. It wasn't too much of a give away, right?

"David should learn to trust you, too. When's a better time then now, right?" She shrugged her shoulders, sliding my phone across the floor to my bed.

I had actually thrown it there when Andrea had tried calling me. Amanda was now aware of our little feud.

I sighed and bent down, picking the small plastic device up off the floor. I scrolled through my contacts, resting upon Tom's number. I would just have to hit the little send button… that was it… Oh what was I thinking? He'd probably be with Danny! I couldn't call him when they were together-

Amanda had come up behind me and pressed my thumb onto the green button.

"Amanda!" I gasped as the call connected.

"Say hello!" She mouthed, looking excited.

I took a deep breath and put the receiver to my ear. It rang a few times before anyone answered.

_"Hello?"_ Tom's cheerful voice broke through, sounding pleased. I smiled a little bit as a reaction.

"Hey, Tom, it's Emily."

_"Hey, Em! What's up?"_

"I wanted to thank you. For the fruit basket? Yeah, thanks." God, could I sound any more awkward?

_"No problem, really. I love those things. They always make me feel better."_

"No kidding. Those strawberries were like mutants monsters."

_"They're the best part, definitely. They could easily save a suicidal man from jumping off a building with their wonderful taste." _

"They could probably distract a world leader from hitting the nuclear war button."

_"They could cause someone who can't eat strawberries to cry." _

"Why are all your metaphors so sad?"

_"Dude, yours was about nuclear destruction."_

"Oh touché, my friend."

_"… If dropped into a third world country, those strawberries could end world hunger."_

"Then we better get dropping, huh?"

_"Yes. I'm not sure why people haven't thought of it sooner."_

"Because no one is quite as intelligent as us, Tom."

_"Now I'm a bit worried…" _

"Don't worry. You'll right the world with your wonderful music skills." I shut up once the words left my mouth and I glanced over to Amanda quickly. She hadn't even noticed the slip up. That was close.

_"Now I'm even more worried. You shouldn't have that much faith in me." _

"Would you feel better if I said it's the other three that I have my faith in?"

_"Ouch. And to think I sent you mega mutant strawberries." _

"Which are all gone, by the way. My roommate and I devoured them."

_"I'm glad you liked them. You deserved a nice pick-me-up after your night, and I figured flowers were too cliché. Not as delicious either, yeah?"_

My breath caught in my throat at the mention of flowers. Hadn't Amanda mentioned something about them?

"Definitely. I might've been even more offended if you sent flowers, actually. Good choice with the fruit."

_"Ha! I got lucky then, huh? Did you know there's such thing as a cookie-gram? I came across it when I was looking up the fruit order." _

"A cookie-gram? That's quite smart, actually."

_"Meh, I guess. Why wouldn't the person just make the cookies themselves, though? It's not that hard." _

"It's all in the delivery, I think. Though, homemade cookies are the best. My friend gave me one of hers yesterday-" I cut myself off from thinking about Andrea. "It was good." I finished, boringly.

_"Cool. Hey… actually, how are you at baking?" _

"Depends… is this going to be a sexist question?"

_"Far from it… I think."_

"It's okay, I'm curious now. I'm decent at baking, why?"

_"Well, you know how our tour ends in like… two more days?" _

"Yeah?'

_"Well, our manager thought that it would be 'like, the coolest thing in the world ever' if we threw a party for everyone who helped us out. Apparently my house was designated the party house and because it's for a bunch of old people it won't really be that much fun, Fletch wants me to bake things for them." _I could hear Tom shaking his head on the end of the phone, insulted. _"He won't even let me buy things." _

"Wow, Fletch can be a harsh manager sometimes, huh?"

_"You have no idea. Anyways, would you like to help me bake, Miss. Jones? None of the guys even know how to turn on the oven and I would really enjoy the company." _

I considered it for a moment, slightly excited. It would be my first time hanging out with Tom without Danny there to supervise or mediate. It would all be so new…

"Sure, I'd love to help you. Anything to thank you for the freak-of-nature strawberries."

_"Awesome. How about if I call you in a few days when I'm home? The so-called party is on Friday. What're your classes for Thursday?"_

"I have morning courses but my afternoon's free." I stated, smiling. Amanda whipped her head up from her book, her eyes wide with excitement and curiosity.

_"Awesome. Would you need me to pick you up or can you get here?"_

"I'm actually a pro at taking the bus. You'd be amazed." Tom laughed, causing my smile to widen.

_"All right, then. I'll shop for the massive amounts of flour and other outrageous shit while you bus it over here around two, yeah?_

"Sounds like a plan."

_"Great. See you Thursday, Em."_

"Bye, Tom." I sighed, hanging my phone up happily.

"Oh my gosh, you have a date." Amanda ran over to my bed, jumping down on it enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my own excitement.

"Well… no. I'm going over to his place Thursday to help him bake for this stupid old people party for his work. I'm not sure if it's actually a date."

"Dude, I heard super flirting on your end of the phone. It's definitely a date."

"Thanks, Amanda." I blushed, hoping Tom hadn't noticed.

"No problem, girl."


	10. Chapter 10

**GAH! MY INTERNET WAS TURNED OFF!**

**Because my stupid dad is such an ass (**_**seriously**_**) and the bill is in his name and he's just a jerk so he DIDN'T GIVE MY MOM THE BILL (on purpose!) and she couldn't pay for the internet WITHOUT THE FREAKING BILL (obviously) so we suffered the entire weekend disconnected. **

**Seriously, my dad really is quite mean. **

**AND. To make it up to you guys because you have no reason to feel the wrath of my quite mean dad, I'll post TWO chapters today. Oh gosh it's like Christmas!**

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Thursday mornings were usually my least favorite days of the week. I had biology, meaning my least favorite class with my least favorite people. George the Pervert sat behind me flicking my ponytail while my professor mumbled on in such a monotone voice it could put an insomniac to sleep. Seriously.

"George, I swear to god if you keep blowing on my ear I will forcefully shove my pen somewhere you don't want it to go." I growled as a cool draft blew across my ear for the fifth time.

"I have no clue what you're talking about sweetheart, but I assure you that I'd enjoy whatever you want to do to me."

"I'm pretty sure your little guy wouldn't agree." I stated, glancing at him with a smirk across my face. I watched as his eyebrows rose and his smile faltered for half a second. Perfect.

"Oh, so you're into the tougher stuff, huh?"

"George, shut the hell up." I almost yelled, glaring at him directly.

Sitting next to him in class made me want to gain a serious amount of weight while burning my face off at the same time. He could make the prettiest girl feel dirty and disgusting.

"I think you like it."

"And I think I'm going to turn you over to the dean if you don't stop talking _right now_."

Yeah. I could be really mean when I wanted to.

It was finally Thursday. _Thursday_. The day of my not-really-a-date-but-just-a-hang-out with Tom. I had been anxiously waiting the past four days out, nearly positive that it would never come.

One thing I couldn't understand was why I wanted to be with him so badly. I'd never really acknowledged him like this before. He'd always just been Tom Fletcher, Danny's cute band mate.

But Tom had really grown up… not to say he'd been immature or anything. Appearance wise I'd always thought he was kind of like a five-year-old-boy cute, but recently he'd really matured. He'd always been sweet and nerdy, just the way I liked my guys, so that wasn't too different.

I guess it just took me a while to really _notice _him.

Whatever the reason, I couldn't deny my excitement to see him.

I had even completely forgotten about my little spat with Andrea and Jake. The days seemed to mesh together and I hadn't run into them once. I missed seeing them everyday after school, and I knew that I notice it more once Thursday was done and finished, but the past days just hadn't really registered with me.

"George, that had better just be your finger poking my hip."

"Would you prefer something else?"

"I'm definitely going to kill you once this lecture gets out…" I whispered under my breath, earning a few looks from the people around me. What were they thinking anyway? They all knew how annoying George was.

I jumped up from my seat quickly once our professor dismissed us. I had about an hour to get ready and catch my bus to Tom's. I sighed, happiness washing through me.

"Where're you going so quickly, beautiful?" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I thought I'd left him back in the classroom…

"George if you don't get the hell out of here I really am going to report you."

"What are you talking about? You're just asking for the attention with those cute jeans of yours." I spun around, glaring at George directly in the eyes. He wasn't much taller then I was.

"I am not asking for attention, especially from you. I am asking for you to leave me the hell alone and get on your way." Was that clear enough for him?

"Sure you are, sweetheart."

"I'm pretty sure she wants you to leave, mate." I spun around quickly to see Jake turn around the corner, glaring at George angrily.

"None of your business _mate_." George met Jake's glare momentarily before going back to looking at me.

"It'll be my business until you leave her alone." Jake came up to my side, dwarfing the Pervert.

"Fine, fine. I see when I'm not wanted. I'll talk to you later, Emily." I stuck my tongue out in reply, sickened.

"Thank you so much Jake. He's been bugging me all morning…" I sighed, glancing up at my friend.

"No problem, Em. I've been looking for you all week, trying to find you and apologize. I figured I could track you down over here."

"Good guess. And you're forgiven, really. I need to be going though, I'm meeting up with a friend and I really need to get ready." I smiled, growing excited again.

"Ooh, a friend? Is this a man friend?" He asked looking excited himself.

"Yes it is. And I swear, Jake, you gossip like a girl sometimes." I laughed as we stopped outside the girl's dorms.

"It's not my fault that I like a bit of gossip here and there." He smiled, waving me off as I entered the building. I got ready quickly, showering and blow-drying my hair out in less then thirty minutes. I spent the rest of my time picking out an outfit, wasting so much time deciding on jeans and a boring band t-shirt. We were going to be baking so I didn't want to look too nice.

I caught my bus just in time, showing the driver my bus pass and moving to an empty seat. It was a twenty-minute bus ride to the main street where the guys lived. I always thought it was kind of cute how they all lived on the same street, unable to completely separate from one another. Just thinking about it made me smile. They were like brothers…

The thought of brothers made my heart stop. Just because Danny couldn't cook didn't mean he wouldn't be there. Would Tom invite him over anyway? I had no reason to be excited. It would be like any other time I hung out with the McFly guys.

I pushed the button once their street came into view. Thanking the driver, I got off slightly crest fallen. My plans and mood had gone completely down hill. Why had I thought it would be special?

I strolled up Tom's garden, pulling my sweatshirt tighter around me. His driveway contained his baby blue mini and no other cars. Obviously the boys didn't drive to one another's houses, though. That would be such a waste of gas.

The doorbell chimed a sweet, melodic tone as I pushed the small white button. The moments in which I spent waiting for him to answer were filled with some kind of regret. I shouldn't have been so hopeful…

The door swung open calmly, revealing a very pleased Tom Fletcher. I couldn't help but smile as I looked over his optimistic appearance. He was clad in a red star wars shirt and black jeans; his dimple-smile was overly evident upon his face.

"Welcome, to casa de Tom." He laughed, opening the door wider for me to enter the room.

I'd been to Tom's house before, visiting for a Christmas party one time with Danny. I remembered the floor plan fairly well as he led me into the living room. My mind naturally expected to see a lazy Danny Jones spread out across Tom's couch but surprisingly it was empty.

"You can throw your hoodie anywhere, if you'd like." He explained as I unzipped it. I leisurely threw it across his couch, trying to casually spot a hidden Danny.

Were we actually _alone_?

"So what's on the menu, Master Fletcher?" I asked as he led me into the kitchen.

"Master Fletcher?"

"Every time I see you, you're wearing Star Wars shirts. Seriously, do you own them all?

"I'm hoping to obtain the largest Star Wars clothing collection. You don't even want to see all the boxers I have."

"Dude, I already can." I laughed, pointing to the Darth Vader mask revealing itself from Tom's pants.

"Haha, woops." He laughed, blushing slightly as he pulled his pants up just a bit.

I glanced away from his cute boxers around the room. My jaw dropped at the amount of supplies accumulated across his kitchen counter tops.

"Tom?" My voice was small as I glanced over at him, shocked.

"Shall we begin?"


	11. Chapter 11

Two =]

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"Tom I think you put too many eggs in here." I laughed as I whisked the mix for the chocolate chip cookies.

"What do you mean? The recipe calls for two large eggs. We only have small eggs so I added another." He smiled down at me, looking into the bowl from over my shoulder.

"Oh, well. These cookies will just be extra eggy." I laughed and continued whisking.

"What are you talking about? They'll be perfect." Tom's one-sided dimple appeared on his face as he moved to the side to start another batch of muffins.

"Tom… Tom, maybe I should handle the eggs on that one." I stated, pulling the small white egg from his hand. He scowled, but handed it over easily. "Just… go stir that." I laughed, sending him away.

We made a nice team after that, me adding all the necessary ingredients and him mixing them together. I was so relived when I discovered that Danny really _wasn't _there and that all my worrying would probably kill me some day.

"Tom, how many of these do we actually need to make?" I asked, looking up in confusion from the huge bowl of cookie dough. Tom glanced over at me from his serious stirring and did a double take before laughing out loud. I furrowed my eyebrows, not seeing anything remotely hysterical about cookies.

"You have… flour… on your… face!" Tom's words finally made sense after a few moments of me trying to piece them together. I held a shiny pot up to my face to see the streaks of powder across my nose.

"Thanks, Tom. Laugh at the girl helping you bake for an army. Thanks." Though I was laughing as well. He settled down after a moment, whipping an invisible tear from his eye.

"I'm not laughing. I swear. It looks adorable on you." He stated, his face giving him away.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, glaring across the table at him. He looked worried after a moment. Oh he definitely knew what was coming.

Seriously, how could he _not _know what was coming? It was the cliché Hollywood romantic movie scene when the two lovers try to cook and throw flour all over one another. It happened in several romantic movies, including the scenes where the entire kitchen became coated in cooking ingredients.

So obviously Tom had to see it coming when I picked up a handful of flour from the bag and chucked it in his general direction. His mouth was open from shock, receiving most of the blow to his tongue.

"Oh! Pftt! Bleh! Emily!" He laughed, spitting the flour out of his mouth and wiping it off of his face, leaving streak marks.

"Ha! We match now, jerk." I smiled, pleased.

How could I have been so foolish to over look his counter attack? It happened in every single movie as well. I should've known that by throwing the flour, I had initiated a cooking war.

"Tom! You can't throw _eggs_!" I shrieked, pulling the yoke from my hair.

"Well I guess that I'm just shit using eggs, huh?" He laughed, picking up another one.

"Oh no you don't!"

And so our war began, Tom armed only with his eggs and butter, while I threw every dry substance I had his way. Time seemed to fly by as our war carried on, neither of us caring that we were wasting precious daylight and food. After I don't know how long, I realized just how close our war was. Not only in the battle to win, but how _physically_ close we were.

Tom had his arm wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me into his chest. His other hand had a handful of cookie dough in it and he brought it dangerously close to my face.

"Tom! No, no, no! Please, no!" I laughed, begging him to stop while hopelessly trying to wiggle out of his grip.

"Oh, I will, Em. I will." He seemed very proud that he'd gotten me into such a position. Little did he know that I had something up my sleeve…

Literally. A little flow of flour spilled out of my sleeve and down over Tom's hair.

"Ow! Damn, I got some in my eye." Tom laughed, releasing me. I spun around to face him, apologetic.

"Sorry, Tom… here let me see." Tom had backed up to the counter blinking rapidly. I stood in front of him, gingerly taking his head in my hands to examine his eye.

"I look like I'm crying." He laughed as tears streamed down his face.

"You do. I could take a picture and sell it to a magazine. Serious money, right there." I stated, nodding my head thoughtfully.

"You're funny." Tom stated, glaring at me slightly.

"I know. Just one of my wonderful traits… I think the best thing for your eye is to just keep fake crying. Or that's what we'll call it to make you feel manlier. Either way, it'll wash the flour out." I laughed, smiling at him playfully.

"Thank you, Dr. Jones. I was worried there, for a moment." Tom rolled his eyes, still blinking rapidly. It took me a moment to realize that my hands were still holding his face steady. I ripped my hands back as though they had been burned, blushing slightly as they folded them together in front of me.

Tom glanced down at me, looking directly into my eyes. His look had me wishing for clear skin, flour free hair, and pretty eye make-up. He was probably thinking about how weird of a moment we just had.

But he continued to look at me oddly as I stood their, hands tied together in front of me, with an innocent look on my face. I needed to know what he was thinking, just to calm my curiosity. Why had I never seen Tom like this before?

"Um… is your eye good now?" I asked, clearing my throat awkwardly. Tom blinked and looked away, coughing himself.

"Yeah. All good." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, wiping away any flour residue and tears.

"Cool… maybe we should get back to work… that is, if we have enough to work with." I laughed lightly, glancing around the destroyed kitchen.

"Yeah… we might have to remix this cookie dough." Tom chuckled as he held out his hands, dropping the thick dough onto the ground.

"Let's get back to work."

We worked fairly well for the next couple of hours. I had never considered the fact that baking was physically draining. I felt as tired as when I returned home from the gym.

"I will never bake another cookie for as long as I live." I sighed, falling back onto Tom's couch with a finished cookie in my hand.

"What about a muffin?" He asked, flopping down next to me, biting into a blueberry muffin.

"Definitely not a muffin." I stated, closing my eyes.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, each enjoying our treats. My mind continuously drifted to thoughts concerning my newfound attraction towards my brother's best friend. I didn't even want to think of it that way…

"You want to stay for dinner?" Tom asked, nudging me with his foot to know that he was addressing me. Well, who _else _would he be talking to?

"Depends if I can ever eat again." I patted my tummy, noticing how full I was.

"We can order pizza. That way I can eat seven slices and you can have one. Then you'll at least know you ate something." His logic wasn't very convincing.

"I think you just want pizza."

"I think you're correct."

I laughed, shaking my head and stuffing the last of my cookie into my mouth. "Pizza sounds great, but the busses shut down by eight. Do we have enough time?" I glanced at my watch, calculating.

"I'll drive you back. It's no problem." Tom assured me as he pulled out his phone, speed dialing the pizza parlor with a content smile on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you reviewers. I've realized that I haven't been giving you guys the response you deserve. Just wanted to say how much I love you all =]

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I sat on the couch, examining the stubborn flour laid into the fabricated cushions as Tom answered the door and paid for our pizza. It would take him forever to get all of the cookie mix out of his furniture and off his kitchen walls.

"Tom?" I chuckled slightly as he reentered the room, a piece of pizza already dangling from his lips.

"Hm?" He mumbled around the slice.

"I think after dinner we should get cleaning… or maybe we should just tear your house down and build you a new one. That may be easier." I reasoned, considering our options.

"I have this wicked good cleaning thing that gets like… everything out. You just spray it on and wait a little bit and then go back and wipe it off with a rag. Seriously, it's like magic."

I stared at him curiously, wondering where he'd learned to clean.

"It's your nasty brother. Seriously, does he purposely enjoy walking through mud? Every time he comes in my house there are trails of it everywhere." Tom shook his head, licking some tomato sauce off his thumb.

I took a piece of the pizza and nibbled it lightly. I wasn't even that hungry but the smell of the garlic and cheese was too overpowering. How could one deny fresh, hot pizza?

"Danny's always had this weird birth defect. Whenever he sees a puddle on the ground he tends to jump straight into it. We hope he'll grow out of it soon, but the doctors think it'll stay with him for life." I smiled, teasing obviously.

Tom laughed loudly, rolling his eyes. "Is it horrible that I could believe that?"

"Believe? Dude, it's a fact."

I finished my pizza happily, very content with my full tummy. Tom continued on with his promise and ate every other piece of pizza in the box. While he was working on his fourth slice or so, he turned the television on to the movies channels, scanning quickly.

"Ooh! Star Wars! You want to watch?" He asked, clicking the remote.

"Sure. It's better then cleaning, right?" Embarrassment washed through me as my deprived childhood caught up to me. "Would you hate me forever if I told you that I've only seen the fourth one?"

Tom's head turned to me, shocked. I had never really considered just how big of a Star Wars freak he was, but a quick glance around his house confirmed any suspicion. He had several little knick-knacks, all references to what I assumed to be his favorite saga of all time.

"Only the fourth?" He verified, confused.

"Yeah… I saw it when I was really young, and I have to be honest, it gave me nightmares. You know that one part where Luke, Leia, Hans Solo, and Chewy are all stuck in the garbage pit and Luke gets pulled under the water by that freaky garbage monster thing? That's the only scene that I can remember and it still freaks me out today." I confessed, blushing slightly.

"Seriously? Dude, I am definitely going to help you overcome your fear. Totally forget about cleaning at all… It's like fate. Look at which movie's on now!"

Sure enough, the exact Star Wars film on the screen flashed 'Star Wars – A New Hope.'

"That's the one with the freaky garbage pit scene?"

"The exact one."

"And you're going to make me watch it?"

"If you want to." I could see the truth on Tom's face as he glanced from the T.V. to me. It was just a movie. I could get through it.

"Yeah, let's watch."

Tom happily clicked the play button and our film began. I guess that I'd missed out a bit on the Star Wars information, but at any point in the movie where I began to get confused Tom whispered what was happening quietly to me, as though we were in a movie theater.

"See now? See how Luke's getting mad that his aunt and uncle were killed? That's a big no-no when dealing with the force. Anger, hate, and fear are all traits that lead to the Dark Side. You know his dad's Darth Vader, right? This part is supposed to be worrying because Luke's the last hope for the rebellion and he could easily turn out to be like his dad." Tom whispered and I sighed sadly, watching the young Luke Skywalker on the screen. Good thing he had C3PO and R2-D2. They were the funniest droids I'd ever seen.

When my historic scene came on, I subconsciously shifted closer to Tom. I cringed slightly, hoping he wouldn't mind as my childhood nightmare presented itself in front of me. As I watched, I suddenly began to relax, though. Tom's arm was resting around my shoulders encouraging me to watch silently.

Was the scene really so short? It only lasted a few minutes. And it had a happy ending! Luke didn't even die!

"How come I was always scared of that?" I asked out of nowhere while the rebellion fighters ran through the Death Star. Tom laughed and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head all at the same time.

We went on through the next hour in just about the same fashion. Tom was an excellent partner to watch a film with, and I never once felt uncomfortable.

"How many times have you watched these?" I laughed as it finally came to a close, the credits rolling across the screen.

"Too many to count, honestly. I just really love the play around the force and the good versus evil stuff. It's so… I don't know… awesome."

"Nice word choice Mr. Song-Writer. You may need to increase your vocabulary if you want to reach another number one." I laughed, joking.

"You find a better word to describe Star Wars apart from awesome and epic. I dare you."

I laughed, rolling over more comfortably on Tom's sofa. I felt utterly relaxed and welcome there, as well as unwilling to leave. How late was it anyway?

"Oh god, Tom. I'm going to need to get back… soon. Shit, they'll lock the dorms down before I get there!" I groaned, trying to pull myself away from his comfortable couch.

"Fine, fine. I'll clean this up later. Let's get you back." He groaned as well, standing up and offering a hand out to me. I grasped it, allowing him to pull me up. My mind was telling me to run, run, run, but my body refused to move.

I followed Tom groggily out to his mini, jumping in the passenger seat while he turned the engine over. Soft Beatles music played from his car stereo the moment the ignition turned on.

"Abbey Road?" I mumbled tiredly.

"Ah, you know your Beatles."

"I had to make up for my lack of Star Wars information somewhere."

"You're lucky, otherwise I'd chuck you out of the car on the high way."

"I'm just feeling the love, Tom. Feeling the love." My eyes slid closed as he smoothly drove through the streets, taking the back roads to my school.

"I could listen to this song on repeat for the rest of my life, and never get tired of it." I stated once I Want You (She's So Heavy) began to play through his speakers.

"Hm… I never considered it, but you're completely right."

"It's better then sleeping in on Sundays."

"It's better then mega chocolate strawberries."

"It's better then Star Wars."

"… No. No it's not." I laughed out loud as Tom's serious tone met my ears. I guess I couldn't gamble with his movie.

We listened to the song in silence all the way to my school. Tom drove me up to my dorm building, stopping softly at the front door.

"Thanks, Tom. Today was fun. I hope your party goes well tomorrow… hopefully none of the old people will mind your couch smelling like cookie."

"If they're delusional enough, they'll probably lick it, thinking that it really _is_ a cookie." He smiled kindly at me as I opened the door and hopped out. I waved after him as I shut the door and he drove away.

I watched as he turned the corner and his car pulled out of sight before I turned to sprint into my dorm building. It definitely had to be my lucky night as the door was still unlocked and the lights were left on.

I ran up the stairs two at a time, too happy to take the elevator. My key jingled joyfully in my hands as I unlocked my door and ran in to meet Amanda.

"Amanda? I'm home!" I called, spying her small frame on her bed, reading.

She glanced up from her book on modern culture and socialization to register my appearance.

"Oh my god! You just had a great night, didn't you?"

"Yes. I most definitely did."


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy =]**

****************

What was the distinct line between clean and dirty? Was there a middle ground, covering everything that could be defined as an organized disaster? My bed would have to fall into that category. Amanda would easily beg to differ, seeing as she enjoyed things to be very tidy, but I was kind of proud of the thousands of piles around me.

I had decided to take my time between classes to organize all of my schoolwork, seeing as I had been putting it off for weeks. I was so behind on all of my work and barely scraping by in any of my classes. How could one hold a healthy social life while maintaining a steady school life as well?

"You're French papers are on my side." Amanda picked up my French homework, pulling a little corner of the paper out from under her bed and handing it over to me, a look of disapproval evident upon her face.

"Thanks," I replied, refusing to cave into her lecture.

"You know, none of this would've been a problem if you just kept it all in a neat portfolio like I showed you at the beginning of the semester and-" I held up a hand, silencing my overly vocal roommate.

"I know. You're right. I'm wrong. I'll do better next time, I promise."

"Why do I have this sinking suspicion that I've replaced the roll as your parental figure?"

"Maybe because we have this conversation a million times before?" I suggested, smiling slightly as I teased her. I knew she was just being herself, and there was nothing I could do to change that. That was probably the reason why we got along so well.

She laughed as well and settled back into finishing one of her term papers. I continued my work, trying to focus on alphabetizing and organization.

For a productive ten minutes my brain seemed to like the idea of working. I completely filed all of my written essays into one folder before my daydreaming started to cloud my mind.

Was it horribly pathetic that all I wanted to think about was Tom?

Fine, so maybe my cleaning attack wasn't really because I wanted to organize my work. I was desperately trying to find distracting tasks in order to keep my mind from analyzing my time with my newfound desire. All I could seem to think about was how close we had been in the kitchen and how enthralling it felt to have his arm wrapped around my waist. His sweetly dorky laugh seemed to fill my head whenever something slightly amusing happened and I seemed to connect average day-to-day things to him.

Though, I blame half of that on my obsessive roommate. Tom's picture was all over her walls too. Every single McFly band picture stared down at me as though refusing to let me forget my worries and preoccupation.

Their amused smiles triggered every recent memory with Tom. Danny's famous grin had me feeling guilty and worrisome. How would my protective older brother deal with my sudden infatuation with his best friend and band mate? Would he, as Amanda had suggested, learn to trust me and my judgment? No, it seemed too good to be true.

"What do you want to do for dinner? You've been working all day so you can't have eaten much. We could go to the cafeteria but honestly, school food doesn't sound too appealing right now." I looked up from the paper in my hands, focusing directly on Amanda.

"Dinner?" Was it that late already? I glanced over at the digital clock on my bedside table, shocked to find that an hour had already gone by.

"Yeah. You seriously aren't hungry? Are you worried about something?" Amanda came to sit on my bed, carefully maneuvering herself around the stacks of paper. I hid my eyes from her view, knowing all too well that she could read human emotions like a book.

"No, I'm fine. I just didn't realize the time." I lied, shrugging my shoulders.

Amanda had been the first one to point out to me my weird eating habits. She told me that people tended to handle stress differently; some people eat unhealthy amounts of salty foods, or sugars, or drank a lot of caffeine. There were other people, though, who tended to loose their appetite completely. I happened to fall into that category.

"You sure? Do you want one of those protein shakes? That way you don't have to eat too much anyway, but you still get all the daily requirements." She stood up, heading to our suedo-kitchen, a Carnation Instant Breakfast already in her hand.

"No, no. Let's order pizza or something." I smiled, biting my lip as I remember the previous night.

Amanda nodded happily, sifting around our dorm room for the telephone book. Why we didn't have the pizza places number on speed dial was a mystery to me. We ordered from there so much it should've been implanted in our memory banks.

"Found it!" She sang, pulling the dull yellow book out from under the sofa. I laughed as she brushed multiple dust bunnies off of her shirt and ordered our normal cheese pizza.

Thirty minutes later, Amanda and I rocks paper scissor-ed to see who would have to go pick up our order. Our all time favorite pizza place wasn't prone to delivery, so we would normally take turns walking the two blocks in the cold weather.

"No fair! I had to go last time!" Amanda huffed as she pulled on her thick coat.

"Rocks Papers Scissors never lies, my friend. Don't let the food get cold on your way back!" I laughed as she slammed the door behind her. I settled my self back into my bed, abandoning my attempt in organizing my work. It was useless. In a matter of a week, I would mess everything up again anyway.

I picked my phone off of my bedside table, half expecting to see a missed call or a text message from Andrea. Nothing appeared on the screen though, as I opened it. After a moment of rejection, I realized that my phone had just died.

"I'm a complete idiot…" I sighed to myself, leaning over my bed to plug my phone into its charger. Who actually takes offence to their phone being dead? Just me? Yeah. Me.

Ten minutes later, I officially decided that I was bored. I never really spent much time alone in my dorm room for that exact reason. We had nothing to do except sit on our beds and think.

I didn't really want to think too much.

Getting up from the bed, I hoped something would inspire me away from my boredom. The room was dark, seeing as the sun had already set, and had turned cold. I pulled my blanket off of my bed, careful not to knock any of the papers, and threw it around my body like a cape.

I remembered when I was little and my mother had made both Danny and I little silk blankets. Danny's was a deep blue color and mine was pink, and they both had our names stitched into them with a pretty fabric. On days when we were stuck at home, Danny and I would tie our blankets around our necks and pretend we were super heroes, out to save the world from some form of crime! In the end, Danny would always switch to the side of evil and I would have to save him.

Oh, the wonderful memories of childhood.

I smiled, making my way onto Amanda's half of the room. I sat on her bed and glanced over her walls, taking the time to examine every McFly picture she had posted. It was almost as though I was watching a movie reel, playing perfectly in chronological order. In each picture, the boys grew up just a tiny bit more as they moved from album to album.

One picture that really caught my attention was one of all four of the boys. There was nothing too significant about their poses, and nothing too artistically done to enhance its beauty. It just showed all four of the boys around the time of Motion In The Ocean, smiling and laughing about something Danny had obviously said. His smile clearly said 'What did I say?' while his friends hugged him and laughed.

I think it described their relationship perfectly. Harry was standing on Danny's left, rolling his eyes with an amused smile evident upon his face. Dougie was curved under Harry's arm, eyes squinted together and hands covering his mouth as he broke into a fit of laughter. Tom stood directly on Danny's right, one arm casually swung around his friend as though he were comforting him through his stupidity. The blonde's eyes were wide and filled with laughter as he ruffled my brother's hair.

Half of me wanted to steal the picture off of the wall to keep it securely hidden on my side. The other half of me knew that it would always be right across the room, happily on display for the world to see.

I think I liked it better that way.

I gave a little yelp as a sudden rapping on the door pulled me out of my world. I hopped off of Amanda's bed, hoping that she hadn't caught me staring at her McFly collage. It took me a few moments to realize that it wasn't Amanda reentering though the door, but someone actually knocking from the other side.

I moved as fast as I could with my blanket hanging down to my feet, trying to prize my hand from the covers in order to release the door lock. Surely the pizza box wouldn't obscure Amanda's ability to open the door.

The door swung open as I released the doorknob, my eyes curious to see who would be calling at such an odd time. Most of the students were down in the cafeteria, enjoying their dinner and discussing their courses with one another.

My mind clicked slowly as I took in the appearance of the visitor. My mind must've been fooling with my vision.

"Tom?" I asked, completely and utterly confused. Was I official going insane?


	14. Chapter 14

This is probably the longest one yet. But you know what? It's also the best. So yeah.

**Or… one of the best. How about, it's the **_**first **_**best? **

**Yeah, now I bet you ALL know what's coming. Haha, **_**yeah**_** you do!**

****************

"Hey, Em." Tom smiled lightly, his eyes traveling down my body for a moment. "Cold?" His hand gestured to my thick blanket.

"Erm…" I couldn't even complete a sentence. He must've thought I was socially challenged. "Erm… yeah, just a bit."

"Oh, well, I have this for you. Maybe it'll help?" Tom pulled a gray lump of fabric out from under his arm and unfolded it, revealing a familiar looking sweatshirt.

"Is this mine?" I asked, taking it from his hands.

"Yeah, I found it on my couch when I was cleaning up." He laughed slightly, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh… Oh! Thank you." I stated, realizing that I must've left it there when we started baking. "You didn't need to bring it by. I would've come to get it." I felt bad that it had inconvenienced him.

"It was no problem… You would've been finagled into staying at the so-called party anyway. It was the most boring thing in the _world_." He laughed. I was about to reply before he continued speaking. "I did call though. You're phone was off." He shrugged his shoulders, unperturbed.

"Yeah, it died earlier. I just didn't notice." I stated, shrugging slightly myself. A sudden fear washed through me that things were about to enter the Awkward Silence mode. Instinct took over, causing me to voice the first thing on my mind. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Tom smiled happily as I opened the door wider, allowing him to walk passed me and into the little room.

"Sorry it's a bit of a mess. I was trying to be a productive student." I laughed, nervously biting my lip.

"It's not that bad. You've seen Dougie's place, right?" I couldn't tell if he was being rhetoric or not.

"Do you want a drink?" I asked, moving into the suedo-kitchen. "We have… water bottles and protein shakes."

"I'll take the water." He laughed as I handed him the bottle.

"We're not stocked very well for college students. For a party school, we put this place to shame." I joked, leading him over to the couch.

"Is that because you can't afford the cool-kid drinks, or because your too cool for school?" Tom played along, cracking the cap off of the water.

"Dorm rules, actually. My roommates big on the rules." I sighed, grimacing slightly.

"Ah, speaking of your lovely roommate, where is she?" Tom glanced around the flat quickly.

"She's not hiding behind the door, Tom." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "She went to pick up pizza. And actually…" I trailed off, fear starting to build in the pit of my stomach.

"She'll be back soon?" He surmised, wincing slightly.

"Yeah," I breathed, trying to find a clear solution to the dilemma.

"Should I be leaving, then?" Tom asked looking worried as well. My expression must've been somewhat concerning.

"Erm-" Part of me knew that if I wanted to play everything safe, Tom would need to go. But how could I ask him to leave when a bigger part of me was dying to have him stay? Fate was definitely testing me.

My eyes shot wide open as the familiar sound of hard bottomed shoes echoing in the hallway out side of my room. Amanda's crackly whistling met my ears, implying with such a musical wind that I was completely out of time.

"Shit." I hissed, jumping off the couch and pulling Tom along behind me. He asked no questions as he stumbled to his feet, following blindly. Where could I hide him in such a small dorm? We had no closet, just drawers! No cupboards big enough, or room under the bed… what was I supposed to do?

"Bathroom?" He asked, looking down at me for direction.

"Yes." I breathed, pulling him down the little hall and opening the wooden door. I flicked the light on as he entered the room and I released his shirt, closing the door in his face just in time as our front door opened widely, revealing a very cold looking Amanda.

"Oh my gosh it is absolutely _freezing _out there! We are never ordering from that place again!" I barely listened as Amanda ranted on about our favorite pizza parlor as I had heard the speech a hundred times. "Next time, _you're _going, Emily."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure." I stated, my eyes flicking quickly to the bathroom as I heard the floorboards creak.

"Hey, you okay?" How come she was so good at picking up odd behavior? Couldn't I just have a normal roommate for once!

"Fine. Completely fine." I didn't sound fine at all. Acting wasn't really my forte.

"You sure? Are you feeling sick?" She asked, moving towards me to feel my forehead. I ducked out from underneath her hand, avoiding contact.

"No, I feel fine." I argued, trying not to strain myself.

Amanda looked at me quizzically for a moment, taking in my awkward proximity to the bathroom door. She was standing nearly a foot a way from me, and I silently prayed she couldn't hear Tom breath.

"Maybe you should take a bath or something." She suggested, clearly thinking that I was insane.

"Erm…" I trailed off, terrified of opening the bathroom door with her so close. "Yeah, I think I will." I agreed, willing her to turn around so I could open the door.

"Okay?" She looked very confused as to why I was still standing in front of her.

"I just wanted to let you know… that… I like your McFly collage. I was looking at it earlier." I stated, looking over her shoulder at all the pictures. Amanda couldn't deny the smile that spread across her face as she turned to look at the photos too.

"Thanks. I'm really pleased with the way it came out - Emily?" The moment she turned around I pushed open the bathroom door and quickly closed it behind me. Tom stood, looking amused, directly next to the door. Sliding awkwardly across the bathroom floor, I turned on the bathtub. The basin began to fill and I moved back across the room, ignoring Tom completely and putting my ear against the door.

"You sure you're okay, Em?" Amanda asked directly from the other side. Tom held his face in his hands, obviously trying not to laugh at my terrified face.

"I'm sure. Thanks, Mandy." I replied back, shoving my hand over his mouth as well, hoping to stifle his giggles. Silently, I guided him away from the door and more in to the room. He sat on the toilet seat and I sat on the edge of the tub, feeling small droplets of water spray up and onto the back of my shirt.

"Damn… my blankets on the floor out there." I whispered more to myself, angry at my horrible planning.

"I'm sure she picked it up." Tom whispered back, a smile still evident upon his face. I scowled, not able to see why he found everything so hilarious.

"I don't get why you're laughing. It's a completely serious thing we're doing, here." Was it really, though? Tom Fletcher was sitting on the toilet in my bathroom while I allowed my tub to fill up with a fake bath. It wasn't very serious, was it?

"I'm just laughing at how ironic it is. She has this massive wall of just McFly pictures, and here I am _in her dorm room_. It's the strangest thing." He chuckled, covering his mouth again.

A smile crept up onto my own face as I assessed the situation from his point of view. I had never thought of it that way.

"I can just picture letting her into the room… she'd definitely faint." I whispered, shaking my head to refrain from laughing.

"Would she faint because I'm here? Or because you're letting her in when you're supposed to be bathing?" Tom asked, a small smirk evident up on his face.

"Tom!" I gasped at his implication, hitting his arm lightly. It didn't have quite the same affect, seeing as my voice never went over a whisper. His eyes laughed playfully as his grin widened.

"What?" He asked innocently, earning another light smack on the arm from me. He pulled said arm away, crinkling his nose in my direction.

"She'll hear you if you keep smacking me." He whispered, his eyes darting very obviously to the door.

"Only if you scream."

"Is that supposed to be a threat, Ms. Jones?"

"Possibly." I smiled, moving off of the edge of the tub in order to stretch out across the floor. I suddenly remembered why I enjoyed having an O.C.D roommate; she kept our bathroom spotless.

Tom joined me on the floor, making my heart flutter dangerously fast as his body lined up with mine perfectly. Were we supposed to fit together so symmetrically, or was it just my imagination?

Tom and I entertained ourselves for quite some time asking Would You Rather questions to one another. It had been so long since I'd played the game and I'd forgotten how fun it could be.

It could also be extremely truthful.

"Would you rather… see a really, _really _horrible movie with someone you really, _really_ liked or see a totally awesome, out of this world movie with someone you wanted to literally kill." Tom whispered as I turned off the water, realizing it was about to over flow.

"Hm… well, I don't really want to kill anyone." I whispered back, dropping my hand over the side of the tub to make some water noises. I thought things through too much some times.

"Pretend you do."

"Well… am I allowed to leave the theater at all? To go to the bathroom or to get candy or something like that?"

"No. You have to stay for the entire thing. AND you have to stay with the person the entire time too."

"Well, obviously the shitty movie then. It wouldn't be too bad if someone I liked was there." That was such an obvious answer.

"And you could never ever see a movie ever again after that." He added on, smiling down at me.

"Now you're just being ridiculous." I laughed, keeping my voice low while thinking of a new question for him. "Hm… would you rather… be forced to leave McFly because of embarrassing naked photos of yourself, or voluntarily leave so that one of the guys could stay instead." I asked, smiling at my torturous question.

Tom's jaw dropped, looking stricken.

"That's not nice." He growled, scowling at me.

"And you're answer is?" I asked evilly.

He considered the question thoroughly, taking some time before he answered. I was about to ask the question again before he finally spoke up. "I would definitely rather to be forced to leave. I don't know if I could ever give it up." He shrugged, looking ashamed.

"Even for one of your friends?" I asked clarifying, not reproachfully.

"Would you hate me if I said yes?" He looked down at me, wincing slightly.

"_I _asked the question." I shrugged, leaning my head against the bathroom wall while casually resting on his shoulder. Did he notice?

If he did notice, he didn't show any acknowledgement. Instead, he asked me another question.

"Would you rather be stuck in a bathroom with me, or with Danny?" He asked, a huge smile breaking out across his face.

"You can't make me decide that!" I laughed, reminding myself to stay quiet.

"Yes I can. The rules of Would You Rather permit me to." He stuck his tongue out rather immaturely.

"Fine…" I sighed, giving it some thought.

Obviously Tom would want me to say him, right? Why else would he have asked the question? And honestly, locking myself in a bathroom with my only brother didn't sound appealing in the slightest. I could practically hear all the fart jokes…

"You." I stated simply, shrugging my shoulders very casually.

"Me?" Tom seemed a bit surprised, though pleased all the same.

"Oh come on, Tom. Would _you _like to be stuck in a bathroom with Danny?" I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Oh so it's not me because of my awesome gentlemanliness?" He teased, looking down at me.

"Is gentlemanliness even a word?"

"Yes. Yes it is." His smile was still evident upon his face.

I suddenly realized that my entire face kind of hurt. The moment I recognized the pain, the smile that had permanently been upon my face fell, and my cheeks felt sore. Tom seemed to notice my sudden change in facial expression, his own features growing worried.

"You okay?" He asked, confused.

"Um, yeah. My face just hurts from smiling." I laughed honestly, a little bit embarrassed.

"Seriously?" He looked very amused.

"Yeah." I chuckled. "That's never really happened before."

The moment the words left my mouth, I began to blush. Wasn't admitting that somewhat close to admitting I had a kind-of thing for Tom? He must've realized what I'd just said.

And sure enough, a small blush rose up on his cheeks as well. He coughed awkwardly and reached his arm up to scratch his neck. I wished I could've taken my words back. Awkwardness was something I was willing to avoid at all costs.

My body seemed to be completely out of sink with my mind. As the cute little blush rose on Tom's cheeks, all of my senses had the sudden urge to kiss him. It was a very rare moment for all of my senses to agree with one another, so my body acted upon it's own will.

I tilted my head up, ready to give his jaw line just a quick little peck. While I could sense what my body was doing, I had no idea what his own would do. Every inch of my being could've never anticipated the way Tom leaned down the exact moment I tilted up, causing our lips to touch lightly.

Oh my gosh, I was kissing Tom Fletcher.

We both froze, as though neither of us had really meant for it to happen. I pulled away, the blush rising higher across my cheeks. My eyes couldn't meet his own as I leaned away, completely shocked.

"Um… that wasn't on purpose." I stated, still unable to control my words.

"Really?" Tom asked, his eyes meeting mine for a fraction of a second.

"I… I don't know." How was I supposed to answer him? With an 'actually, yes it was. Can we go back and do it again? Thanks.' I didn't see that happening.

"Oh. Right." His response seemed just as awkward and forced as mine. Oh god, what had I done? I'd completely ruined any of the friendship that I had built with Tom. He actually looked hurt! How could I hurt one of the nicest guys in the world? For the _second _time!

"Actually…" I started, taking a deep breath. "Maybe it kind of was on purpose." There. I'd just put all of my heart and feelings on the line. He could take it and keep it, or throw it on the ground and stomp all over it. As long as I wasn't the one causing him pain, I could deal.

Tom stared down at me, a suspicion clear in his eyes. I stared determinedly back, practically daring him to challenge my statement. Why would I make something like that up anyway?

I was about to argue my side further, angry that he didn't believe me. Of course I was the only girl who'd be mad about something like that. Most would pretend they were joking anyway! God, he probably thought I was a complete weirdo for even thinking-

Tom Fletcher kissed me again.

How could I even describe the way amazing feels?


	15. Chapter 15

HERE YA GO!

****************

Kissing had never really seemed like such a big deal to me. I'd had boyfriends in the past who were pretty decent at it, but none of them stuck around long enough for it to actually mean anything. The little intimate moment when our lips would connect never really _mattered _to them, causing my standards to drop considerably.

Tom's kisses, on the other hand, completely overwhelmed my mind. It was like experiencing my first kiss all over again except it wasn't quite so sloppy. We both knew what we were doing, though that wasn't what made it so unique. I couldn't even identify what exactly made it special. There was some force behind his end of the kiss, trying to tell me something that I just couldn't interpret. I had never felt it before. What a strange feeling…

After a few moments of us gathering our bearings and growing more comfortable with each other, Tom's hands moved to my shoulders, pulling me onto his lap while his fingers softly massaged the edges of my collar bone. Even with my eyes closed, I knew I was blushing madly. The main purpose for the move was easier access, as we were both starting to feel a crick on our neck. I had no reason to feel embarrassed.

How odd. One of the most interesting make-out sessions of my young life happened to take place secretly in my bathroom on the floor in an uncomfortable position with a famous person. It didn't sound nearly as appealing as it felt.

"Em?" Tom whispered, barely pulling away from my lips to speak. His warm breath washed over my face, filling my senses with the sent of his mint-flavored gum.

Ew. Was I _chewing _it now? Seriously, there's a _line_ and I totally just crossed it.

"Uh, yeah?" I breathed, blushing.

"You've supposedly been in the tub for nearly an hour now." He mumbled, a small smile creeping onto his face as he glanced down at his watch.

"An hour?" I questioned, checking my own watch to see he was exactly right. It was nearly seven o'clock. It still felt like we'd just sat down.

"Do you think she's thinking you're drowning yourself?" He whispered, laughing as he leaned forward and pecked my lips. I scowled, though unable to resist responding to the minimal attention he gave me. It was so cute I couldn't help but inwardly awe.

God, it was like I was a love soaked teenager!

"She's probably thinking something along those lines…" I trailed off, tucking my loose hairs behind my ears. I let my hands rest upon Tom's chest, butterflies filling my stomach with just the thought of the small contact.

"Maybe you should make a noise… you know, just so she knows you're not dead." He smiled, his little dimple appearing on his cheek.

And just because I could, I leaned forward and kissed it. Yep. I kissed _Tom Fletchers _lonely dimple.

And let me tell you, he didn't seem to mind.

After a moment of detangling myself from what could've easily progressed into something very seriously, I slid off of Tom's lap and pulled the plug out of the tub. The water began to drain out of the basin, leaving it dry and clean.

I just wasted so much water…

"Hey, Mandy?" I stepped over Tom's long legs and walked to the door. I left it closed, choosing to just speak through the thin wood.

I heard her drop whatever she was doing and race towards the door, skidding to a stop in just her socks.

"Yeah?" She called back, nervous.

"My stomach doesn't feel very well… we don't have any medicine in here for it, either." I stated, feeling guilty for what I was about to ask her to do.

"Oh… do you want me to go get you some?" She offered, literally reading my mind.

"Would you?"

"Yeah, sure. I know Chelsea would let you borrow some." Chelsea was one of Amanda's few friends. They were both pretty serious about the McFly guys.

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all. I'll be back in about ten minutes, okay? Don't… do anything." She finished, laughing slightly at her own choice of words before I heard her pick up her jacket and leave the room once again.

"Why'd you ask her to do that?" Tom asked curiously, jumping up from his seat on the floor and following me out of the bathroom.

"Because… even though I totally enjoyed what we were doing a few moments ago, I need to be able to get you out of here without her noticing." I sighed, grimacing slightly. "I didn't want to ask her to leave when it was really late either."

"I could've shimmied out of the bathroom window."

"We don't have a bathroom window." I stated, confused.

"In that case, I was just testing you." Tom laughed, moving forward to sling his arm around my shoulders. I inhaled his deep sent, trying to place what kind of cologne he used. It was very unique and very Tom. All I knew was that I liked it.

"Testing me, huh?" I stood up on my tiptoes, nearly a head shorter then he was. I had never noticed the annoying height difference before. My lips met with his for the hundredth time that evening and still the unidentifiable feeling erupted between us, strong as the first time our lips met. It had a permanent feeling to it, as though it would never really fade away. The thought made me too happy for my own good.

"I've got a question." Tom mumbled after a few minutes, looking down at me quizzically.

"Ok. Go."

"Whose idea was it to put Danny's picture underneath the toilet seat?" Tom asked, his head nodding back to my bathroom. My eyes widened in shock and I ripped myself out of Tom's arms. The mysterious Toilet Seat Photo!

I lifted the lid up and sure enough Danny's famous smile greeted me happily. I glared angrily down at the picture and ripped it from the seat, though it caused absolutely no damage. Amanda had laminated the photo.

"So… I'm guessing you didn't know it was there?" Tom laughed, following behind me in a much calmer manner.

"I knew. She just said that she took it off." I grumbled, walking out of the bathroom again and tossing the photo onto my roommate's bed. Now she had potty germs all over her bed!

"How did you _not _notice it?" He asked, confused.

"I don't normally lift the seat, Tom. I'm a girl, remember?" I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah. I definitely remember."

"Shut up."

He chuckled softly before glancing down at his watch, his eyes widening slightly. "I've got to go, Em. Amanda will be back in a few minutes." He sighed, looking slightly regretful.

"Oh yeah. All right, then…" I sighed as well, leading him to the door. I opened it quickly, peeking my head out to make sure the coast was clear.

"I feel like James Bond." Tom laughed from behind me.

"Don't worry, you're not that cool." I shrugged my shoulders, opening the door wider for him to walk past me and into the hallway while huffing at my horrible come back.

He smiled down at me, turning around as he slowly walked through the hallway. I wanted to run after him and pull him back into the room, but I knew he really needed to leave if things were to stay quiet.

"I'll call you later, yeah?" He asked as though looking for permission.

"Yeah. That'd be nice." I smiled, biting my lip nervously. The same lip that had _totally _made out with_ Tom Fletcher_. Wow.

Tom smiled and opened the door to the stairwell, making his exit. I turned to head back in my room, sighing at the thought of being all alone again, even if only for a few minutes. The door almost completely shut behind me before I heard my name being called.

I leaned into my front door, glancing into the hallway curiously. Tom was jogging back to the room causing me to wonder if maybe he had forgotten something. It was funny that he didn't just leave whatever it was to give me a reason to go to _his_ house next time.

"You forget something?" I asked, looking over my shoulder into my room.

"Um. Yeah." He leaned down, quickly pressing his lips to mine before pulling away just as fast. "Bye, Em." Tom's smile shone across his entire face as he quickly strode back through the hallway and down the stairs.

I laughed out loud as his blue boxers disappeared behind the door, completely overwhelmed by the strangeness of the entire situation. I never would've guessed in a million years that things could go so easily. For once in my life, I was allowed to have something that I actually _wanted_.

Well, maybe not fully allowed. I still had no clue how Danny would react if I told him I hooked up with one of his best friends. It'd never happened before and I literally couldn't picture his reaction. It was like a black hole.

But I could just be happy in the present, right? And when bad things decided to roll around and mess everything up, I would just have to accept it. All good things come to an end, right?

Except for that unknown feeling I felt whenever Tom kissed me. It was almost like… like all he wanted to do was be right there kissing me. Like he didn't care how far it went or even if it went nowhere at all.

It was easily the first time I'd ever kissed a guy like Tom.

"I'm home!" I shook my thoughts out of my head and glanced up as Amanda walked into the room. She handed me the stomach medicine, a confused look on her face. "Why isn't your hair wet? Did you blow dry?" She had a knack for noticing things. I never blow-dried my hair in the evening.

"Yeah, I did. It was annoying me." I shrugged my shoulders, lying directly to her face. So what if my conscience suffered? It was just a conscience… Note the sarcasm.

"Makes sense. Hey… what's Danny doing on my bed?" She noticed the potty picture.

"Our toilet is now McFly free."

How right that was.


	16. Chapter 16

This is the chapter that I had serious writers block with. I finished it though, thanks to some really rude fans at a recent Bayside concert =] (you'll get it.)

Thanks for the reviews. They're lovely. So are you. You're very lovely.

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"Emily Jones!" I held my phone an arms length away from my ear as Andrea's voice screeched out from the receiver. Patiently, I waited for her excited squeals to die down before slowly bringing the phone back in normal arms length.

"Yes?" I laughed, curious as to why she was so excited.

"Kaiser Chiefs!" Were the only words she spoke before going back to screaming.

"What about them?" I inquired, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Classes were over and I was enjoying a nice freezing stroll back to my dorm room.

"Don't go back to your room! Come to mine!"

"Why? Do you have the Kaiser Chiefs hidden under your bed or something?" I laughed, changing directions instantly.

"They have a concert tonight!" She finally blurted, explaining her random bursts of screaming.

"Oh Andrea… I went to a concert two weeks ago… I don't know if another one can be in the cards. My wallet's getting kind of light." I winced; thinking about how unfortunate is was to be a student on school loans.

"Jake has three tickets! You don't need to pay him back!" I could hear her excitement clearly evident in her voice. Kaiser Chiefs were one of her favorite bands.

"He does?"

"Yeah!"

"How?"

"I don't know!" She squealed, laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes and laughed along with her, pulling open the door to her dorm building. She continued to squeal happily while I walked up the stairs and knocked on her door. There would be a permanent ringing in my ear from her endless screaming… Even as I approached her door I could faintly hear her random spurts of excitement from her room and through my phone. I hung up with a sigh.

"So… tickets?" I asked, trying to get normal words out of her mouth. How come all of the girls I hung out with had strange obsessions with bands? It was as though their lives depended on the music.

"Tickets!" Andrea screamed as she ran back into her room and lead me to a very content looking Jacob. He smiled up at me and waved three slips of paper in the air.

"I've got connections." Was all he said before Andrea started a new round of ear piercing screams. I clapped a hand over her mouth, growing frustrated.

"We get that you love them," I laughed, rolling my eyes. "But maybe your neighbors don't really care. Or people in China."

"Am I being loud?" She smiled sarcastically, moving to sit next to Jake on the bed.

"Just a bit, babe." He soothed, enveloping her under his right arm. "So you in, Em? It'll be fun." Jake glanced up at me while Andrea wiggled happily in his grasp.

"Well… I've got quite a lot of homework…" I sighed, knowing that as I student it was my responsibility to complete my work.

"You've got all weekend to get it done. It's Friday! Let's celebrate another wonderful end of the week by blowing our eardrums clear from our heads!" Andrea whooped, punching her fist in the air.

Well, as a friend, it was my responsibility to party hard and long with my best friends.

"All right, I'm in."

Shortly after I agreed, we all left Andrea's room and made our way to the same venue where McFly had played. We stood in line for a very short amount of time and I found myself curiously looking around the exact same room that had been selling McFly merchandise. Everything now read Kaiser Chiefs in big letters, but the atmosphere felt different somehow. It didn't feel any better or any worse then from the McFly gig… just different.

As I pondered the feeling, Andrea and Jake went around selecting different concert swag. They both purchased C.D.'s and a t-shirt while I stood back and listened in, not really offering much to the conversation.

"Are you feeling okay, Em? You haven't said much since we got here." Andrea noticed, looking concerned as we entered the concert area. Other fans were already gathering and we stood a little ways behind. I half expected Andrea to force her way through the crowd, but she stood happily next to Jack a few yards back.

"I'm all good," I assured her, not really paying attention.

I continued to think about the difference in the atmosphere as the band got on stage and started playing one of their hits. The McFly fans had all seemed so welcoming and confident as they queued for their band. They seemed very accepting yet young at the exact same time. The Kaiser Chiefs fans reminded me of Jake in a sort of way… like they had decided that this was their music and they were really proud of it. It was more of a mature atmosphere… I didn't think it was wrong of either of the bands fans to think that way, I just didn't quite understand it.

Did a reputation and a certain heir come with listening to certain bands? It was like if you decided to listen to a certain genre of music, the choice didn't just stop at _music_. It reflected your morals and personal choices. But what if you were just looking for a good tune to jump up and down to? Something to throw your hands in the air and scream bloody loud to? Was there a reputation for that? Or did it basically cover every band out there?

I was starting to confuse myself.

I was tired of the feelings of judgment brought on by listening to a band. What was wrong with wanting to listen to McFly, Bob Marley, Beastie Boys, Metallica, Kelly Clarkson, and Eminem all at the same time? Granted, I wasn't into all of the bands but some people were. People shouldn't be judged for _what _bands they listen to, but _how _they tend to listen to them.

Like if they depend on the band like their music was air or water. Andrea and Amanda were very good representation. Reacting like your _life _depended on a band's music is a complete overstatement. Sure, you may be really into a certain group but if you did some research you could easily find another band exactly like them. No one was completely unique anymore.

But I didn't dislike anyone who acted that way. I loved Amanda and Andrea so much, even with their weird obsessions. It was just who they were and I couldn't change them just for my benefit. It wouldn't be fair to them at all.

Still, the atmosphere in the venue was starting to get to me. It would've been more enjoyable if the people in the back would've uncrossed their arms and let the music take them where they wanted to go. It was completely unfair to the Kaiser Chiefs, especially because they were a pretty good band.

People could be so annoying some times.

When the concert ended and everyone filed out, I followed behind Andrea and Jake as they led the way home. My mind was still fixated on my thoughts and I didn't even notice my phone going off.

"Em? Emily? You're phone." Andrea nudged me, looking at me with the same concerned face from earlier.

"Oh. Ha, I think we were too close to the speakers. My hearing is all muffled." I lied as I reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone to silence the ring. I had one new text message.

Txt from: Tom Cell

**Hey, how ya' doing? **

I smiled to myself as I read the little message. Was it bad that I was excited to see it was from him? Tom and I had been texting and talking on the phone every day since we hid in my bathroom. It was really nice talking to him about my day and to hear all about his as well. He confessed that he hadn't talked to Danny about our kiss and I agreed that it was probably for the best. I should be the one to tell him.

Though I was too chicken to actually call and tell him anyway.

Txt to: Tom Cell

**Just got back from a Kaiser Chiefs concert. It was pretty good. What you up to? **

I replied back, stuffing my phone in my pocket while the smile stayed plastered upon my face.

"Ooh! Who is _that _smile for?" Andrea laughed, slowing down her pace to match mine as she noticed my new facial feature.

"No one…" I lied, still smiling.

"I know! Is it that guy you had a date with last week?"

"It wasn't really a date." I shrugged my shoulders in Jake's direction, biting my lip, as I grew worried. It had taken every ounce of my will power to not tell Andrea about the moment Tom and I shared in my bathroom. We always talked to each other about that kind of stuff and it was weird for me to keep it as a secret from her.

"How come you didn't tell me? Is it a guy on campus? Oh please tell me it's not _George_!" She squealed, a disgusted look appearing on her face.

"Hell no!" I replied, disgusted myself.

"Then who?"

"Well… he's a friend of my brothers." I sighed, deciding to go with the same story that I told Amanda.

"You have a brother?" Andrea and Jake asked simultaneously. Why was it so weird for me to have a brother?

"Yeah. And Tom, the guy, is one of his best friends. Oh, hold on." I paused, reaching in my pocket as my phone vibrated with a new text message.

**Txt from: Tom Cell**

**They had a gig tonight!?!? Bummer that I missed it! And to think, I spent my evening trying to get Dougie to wash his feet…**

I made a face and laughed as I read the message. Poor Tom.

Txt to: Tom Cell

**I just found out they were playing tonight too. And poor you, playing mother to Dougie. **

**Txt from: Tom Cell**

**I prefer father, thank you very much.**

I laughed out loud as I read the immediate response. Jake and Andrea were whispering quickly back and forth to one another as I paid more attention to my phone. It was too easy to guess the topic of their quiet discussion.

"Guys, subtlety is not your greatest strength."

"Hm? We have no idea what you're talking about, Emily." Jake responded too perfectly. He was so easy to read.

"Right…"

**Txt to: Tom Cell**

**Oh excuuuuse me. Have you given up with Dougie yet so I can call you? Or are you still fighting a loosing battle?**

**Txt from: Tom Cell**

**How did you know I lost? **

I rolled my eyes and dialed his number as I said goodbye to Andrea and Jake at my dorm building.

"You have to call me later, Missy! I want to hear all about this Tom guy!" Andrea called over her shoulder as Jake led her back. I waved dismissively in her general direction as I entered my building.

_"Hey," _Tom's voice greeted me happily when he answered on the second ring. I heard something breaking in the background and then sudden silence.

"Did something just break?" I asked, confused.

_"I don't even want to think about it. I've locked myself in my bathroom to venture into my own world where my friends respect my personal property." _

"Oh Tom, you hold such high expectations." I joked, laughing slightly.

_"I've been told. It doesn't really matter though. I just hope they clean everything up before the party." _Tom sighed, laughing slightly.

"Party?"

_"You… don't know? Danny didn't call you?" _Tom sounded confused.

"I've got no clue what you're talking about, my friend."

_"Dude, we're having this belated after tour party McFly style. Nothing like the boring one Fletch made us hold. Danny was supposed to call you!" _

"When is it?"

_"Tomorrow night. I can't believe the idiot can't even pick up the phone to call his own sister to invite her-" _A sudden beep cut Tom off mid way through his rant. I held my phone away from my ear to see an incoming call.

"Tom, I think Danny's on my other line."

_"He probably just remembered how much of an idiot he is."_

"I'll be right back." I laughed, switching lines as I entered my dorm room. Amanda was out, probably with Chelsea, so I had the room to myself. I was actually thankful for once.

"Hello?" I asked as I held the phone to my ear.

_"Emily!" _Danny's relieved voice rang through my ears.

"Hey, what's going on?" Though I already had a good idea.

_"Sorry I didn't give you more of a warning, but I just found out myself…ish. Anyway, we have a party tomorrow night for the end of our tour. You want to come?" _Danny asked, sounding hopeful.

"Well… I don't know, Danny. This is kind of short notice." Was it bad that I wanted to bug him a bit?

_"I'm sorry, Em! It's at seven o'clock at Tom's house. Do you think you could make it?" _

"I'll see what I can do. Expect me there, though." I agreed, smiling widely at the thought of seeing Danny… and Tom.

_"Great! See you tomorrow, Em!"_

"Bye, Dan." I laughed, switching back over to Tom's line. "Looks like I'm coming to your party." I smiled, excitement washing through me. It was going to be a great weekend.


	17. Chapter 17

**I had such a weird moment today! In the car with my mom this morning, we were listening to the radio and one of the D.J.'s was named **_**Emily Jones**_**. Sure, it's a pretty common name but seriously? HOW AWESOME? **

**Anyway, love the reviews. They're magnificent. (I figured a different adjective instead of **_**lovely**_** would be in order.)**

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"Okay, so tell me one more time where you'll be and who all will be there?" Amanda asked as I finished getting ready for the McFly party. I rolled my eyes to myself, smiling lightly at her precautions. From the moment I told her that I was invited to my brother's party, she'd been kind of freaking out. It was just who Amanda was. Normal people things caused her to act weird…

"Mandy, I'm going to be with my brother. Nothing is going to happen! If you need to reach me call my phone, okay? I promise I'll have it on the entire time." I told her, picking my bag off of my bed and slinging over my shoulder.

"Okay, fine… what time do you think you'll get back?" She asked sounding defeated.

"Um…" I trailed off, unsure. Danny had never mentioned an official time. It was the weekend anyway, so I was free to stay over somewhere. "I might spend the night. I haven't seen him that much recently." I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"All right…" She sounded very skeptical.

"I'll see you later, Amanda. Don't wait up!" I laughed, hugging her and darting out of our room. She called some warning after me, but I paid no attention. I was going to see Danny and Tom! Not to mentioned the other McFly guys who I loved to spend time with as well. I could just picture the night ahead…

Grabbing the same bus as the one I took to Tom's place earlier in the month, I patiently waited the twenty minutes to their road. Both sides of the street were lined with parked cars, all facing in the direction of Tom's humble abode. My jaw dropped in shock just at the sight.

I walked up the house, careful not to touch any of the really expensive looking cars. I could picture myself setting one of the alarms off and everyone in the house laughing at me. God… that would suck.

The door stood wide open, welcoming the public into the packed house. I tried to push my way through the crowds of people lining the walls into Tom's living room in order to find one familiar face. It was like playing Where's Waldo-3D.

The house was set up perfectly for a party. The normal daytime lights were completely off and replaced with what could easily pass as club lights. Strobes and colors framed the room as the stereo blasted loud dance music. The couch, chairs, and other furniture had been cleared to the edge of the room to make a suedo-dance floor. I had to admit, it was impressive.

I did a quick scan of the room, hoping to recognize one of the boy's hair-dos. Nothing seemed familiar and I continued my way through the house, picking up a drink as I searched on.

The kitchen was lit better, though the amount of people nearly exploded out of the door. I wiggled my way through, trying to peek my little frame over the tall bodies surrounding me.

"You look lost." I spun around quickly, sighing thankfully as Tom smiled down at me. I leaned forward and hugged him automatically, just relieved that I had found someone. After I noticed what I was doing I pulled back slightly, embarrassed.

Tom, on the other hand, was smiling widely. He pulled me closer to his body by leading me out of the room with his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"How do you even _know _this many people?" I asked loudly as we walked through the dance room to his back porch. Quieter music was playing on his deck, but still people congregated despite the chilly weather.

"I don't really know them all. Half of them weren't even invited." Tom laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Still, it's ten times more fun then the last party." His eyes widened for emphasis.

"I can imagine." I laughed, sipping from my cup.

"Uh… no." Tom took the plastic red glass from my hands and set it on the porch railing. I was about to argue before he replaced it with a bottle instead. "You do notdrink out of cups here. Who _knows _what substance is really in them…" He warned, drinking out of his own bottle.

"Like something illegal?"

"Like something mixed with urine." He replied, scrunching his face up in disgust.

"Gross. Who would do something like that?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Someone call me?" I spun around to see Dougie meandering over to us, red cup in hand. A smile was spread across his face as he sidled up to our conversation, looking very pleased.

"We were just discussing some of your not-so hygienic party favors." Tom informed him, a smile across his own face as he pulled his young friend into a headlock. I watched the two in amusement as Dougie squirmed and tried to release himself from Tom's feeble hold. The fight didn't last long.

"Oi! No rough housing around the guests!" Danny's deep voice barked as he appeared next to us. I turned around and hugged him, thinking about how weird it was that I couldn't find any of the lads when I was looking for them, but the moment I stopped they all seemed to find me.

"Hey, Em! Glad you could fit our crazy shindig into your super college schedule!" Danny laughed, already slightly tipsy. I just smiled in return, shooting a subtle glance in Tom's direction.

"Anything for family."

Danny's grin widened, as he was about to continue talking until something distracting caught his attention over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to a girl who could've easily passed as a Playboy Bunny. My insides twisted with some sort of jealousy and disgust.

"Excuse me for a moment." Danny smiled, making his way over to the girl. I mimed gagging behind his back, causing Tom and Dougie to burst out laughing.

"Is he always like that?" I asked them, shaking my head in denial. My brother was a man whore. Great.

"We've been trying to train him, honest. He's just a naughty dog that can't be tamed. We'll have to keep him though… he's the furry part of the family. We love him too much." Dougie shrugged his shoulders and sighed. Tom and I burst out laughing at Dougie's serious face.

"Dougie, I always forget how funny you are." I sighed as my laughter died down.

"That's because you repress them memories right after." Tom chipped in, grinning down at the young bassist.

"Ouch Thomas. You hurt my feelings." Dougie stuck his tongue out and moved to my side. "Emily's nice. She'll be my new best friend. Can you play guitar?" He turned to me, looking interested.

"Um… no." I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh… you know any girls who _can _play guitar?" Dougie prodded, still not thrown off.

"A few, I guess."

"Got their numbers?" A cheeky smile appeared across his face.

"Bad boy, Dougie." Tom scolded as though talking to a dog.

"What? I'm just wondering for when I have to interview for my new best friend position. There are only three requirements." Dougie shrugged his shoulders, looking innocent.

"Which are?"

"Play guitar, have big boobs, and don't mind if I forget their birthday." Dougie stated as though it was obvious.

"Sorry, I don't know any one to fill those requirements. Those are pretty high standards." I told him, shaking my head sadly.

"Hm… well, when's _your _birthday, Em?" Dougie asked, an evil smile appearing on his face.

"Dougie!" Tom smacked his friend upside the head while sending me an apologetic look. I resisted the urge to collapse in hysterical laughter.

"What?" An innocent look spread across his features. I rolled my eyes, trying not to smile.

"Who wants to play a drinking game?" Danny yelled suddenly from his spot next to the blonde. My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly glanced over at Tom. This would definitely be interesting.


	18. Chapter 18

**Enjoy!**

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"Okay, the rules are pretty simple, I'm sure you've all played this before. It's called I Never." Danny instructed as a group of us moved into Tom's lawn. There were only about ten people, four of whom I actually knew. I followed Tom and Dougie onto the lawn while Danny led his Playboy Bunny girl. Harry appeared out of nowhere and eagerly joined our group, matching his pace with us easily. Apart from the McFly guys and me, there were three other girls and two guys. They all seemed rather sober for the most part.

"What's I Never?" A little brunette girl to my right asked, looking confused. She had some kind of foreign accent, sounding Swiss or German. How had she ended up in the _McFly _house of all places?

"Oh, right. Sorry, Inana. I Never is super easy. We all get our drinks," Danny nodded to the cooler in the middle of the group, "and we go around in a circle." As Danny spoke, he made wide movements with his arms to sign what he was saying. Either the girl barely understood English or Danny was just stupid in thinking she couldn't. "When it's your turn you say 'I never,' and then something you've never done before. Anyone who has done it has to take a sip." He mimed sipping his beer. "And I'm just going to ignore the fact that I'm playing a drinking game with my sister." Danny finished, throwing a disapproving glance my way. I just rolled my eyes in return. Stupid brothers.

"So in conclusion, we all wait to see who can get intoxicated the fastest, correct?" Inana glared over at Danny, her subtle accent stimulating her large English vocabulary.

"I've never gotten burned by a wicked German girl at a McFly party!" I offered first, playfully smiling over at Danny, a smirk evident upon my face.

Danny sighed and took his first sip, signifying the beginning of the game.

As I Never continued on, we all ended up sitting in a wide circle on the grass. I was leaning casually against Tom, trying to hide what was easily obvious. Danny seemed completely oblivious to my position however, as he was already working on his fifth beer.

"I never had a dirty dream about Bruce Springsteen!" Harry laughed suddenly from his lying down position on the grass. He was sat in between the two other girls in our group, apart from the German, who looked like they were either twins or very close sisters. He was probably in some kind of heaven.

"I told you not to tell anyone about that!" Danny barked, sipping his beer angrily. I burst out laughing, unable to control it. My stomach hurt so much from the amount of laughing I had done.

"I never… I can't think of anything! This is hard!" The twin on Harry's right laughed, scrunching her face up as she thought.

Well now we know which one's the smart one.

She asked her question and everybody drank because it had something to do with skinny-dipping. The two guys on her right went next, animatedly asking sex related questions. The one closest to me on my left went on an extremely log rant in which halfway through Tom playfully covered my ears as the man went into detail. His hand movements gave everything away, though.

Dougie was the only one who drank.

"I never heard what that guy said." I stated, glaring up at Tom who peeled his hands away from my ears. Everyone groaned and took a sip of the drink.

"My name's Eric, by the way." My left hand guy said.

"Right." I replied, trying to remember everyone's name. We'd gone through in the beginning but there was no way for me to remember.

Tom went next and our game continued. After a while people started to disperse as the game grew old. New people arrived to replace them, but it wasn't the same without the Twins, Inana, and Lefty-Eric. I sighed and stood up, grabbing Tom's hand for him to follow. We tried to escape quickly, hoping that Danny was too involved with Playboy Bunny girl to notice our absence.

"Emily! Where are you going?" I heard him call from behind me, confused. I grabbed Tom's hand and we ran away, laughing hysterically as we went. It must've been the alcohol in our systems.

"Which way!" I laughed as we reentered the house, allowing Tom to take the lead. He paused for a moment considering his options.

"Follow me," He whispered for some reason, taking my hand and leading me through the kitchen, living room, and entryway. I had never turned left entering his house before – always choosing to go right instead. I didn't even know there were more rooms the other way.

I was wrong though. There weren't more rooms, just a hallway closet. Inside there were long winter coats and summer out door gear like water guns and footballs.

"Do you even use this stuff?" I asked, picking up the little plastic gun and blowing dust off of it.

"Well not now, obviously. It'd freeze… though…" He trailed off, contemplating. I rolled my eyes as he closed the door behind us, throwing the closet into complete darkness. Tom pulled the little string connected to the light bulb, allowing an oddly creepy yellow glow to fill the room instead.

"Do you think he'll-" Tom began, but I shh-ed him quietly. Was Danny outside?

_"Emily? Tom? Hey, have you seen my sister? No? Oh, she looks kind of… like me?" _I clapped a hand over my mouth as Danny's loud voice carried over the volume of the others and reached out to the closet. My poor brother could be so stupid at times.

"Shh!" Tom giggled, mostly for himself. His eyes were smiling widely as my brother searched for us.

_"You don't know what Tom looks like? Tom bloody Fletcher? It's his freaking house! What're you doing here then, you git? Get the hell out!" _

"Haha, someone made him mad!" I whispered, leaning my ear against the wood of the door to hear better.

"Know what this reminds me of?" Tom whispered from behind me, his arms snaking softly around my abdomen. I shivered slightly at the sudden contact, my senses heightened by the buzz I was already feeling from the beer.

"What?" I whispered back, completely forgetting about Danny and his stupidity.

"Being locked in your bathroom." Tom spun me around and I stepped forward into his embrace. I could smell the alcohol coming off of both of us, and for some unknown reason the scent just made me feel happier. Don't ask me to explain it.

"Except it's smaller in here." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"And colder."

"Way colder." I agreed, nodding my head.

"We could… warm it. You know, just a bit." Tom offered, smiling his crooked dimpled smile down at me.

"Yeah. Just a bit." What was with me and repeating everything he said? I was like some mindless robot.

But robots could not kiss. Especially with Tom Fletcher.

Our lips connected for the first time in a week, the anticipation making the actual act feel ten times better. I sighed happily, fitting myself more comfortably into his arms. Again, that unknown feeling of security emanated from the kiss, flowing back and forth between us. I wanted more of it, needed more of it.

But I wasn't _that _drunk.

I pulled away after a moment, when breathing through my nose wasn't quite enough anymore. Tom seemed to be taking deep, staggered breaths through his mouth as well, welcoming the oxygen happily.

"I've been waiting _all night _to do that." Tom whispered sincerely, bending his head down so his forehead could rest upon mine.

"Really?" I was girl enough to ask, smiling up at him. Who doesn't like compliments?

"Absolutely. And when Dougie was horribly trying to hit on you? I just wanted to snog you right then and there to shut him up." He chuckled, leaning down to kiss me quickly in between sentences.

"Not only would he think he was dreaming, but he'd probably tell my brother." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Hm…" Tom considered, looking thoughtful. I felt the need to know what he was thinking again. The curiosity was too much for my tipsy state to handle.

"What are you thinking?" I asked earnestly.

"Well... I was thinking several things," he began, looking down at me more carefully. "My first thought was that I would like to take you out on a date. You know… like a proper date. Not to a McFly house party or anything like that." He smiled, chuckling.

"That sounds very reasonable."

"My second thought was that I'd like to take you on a few dates. You know, like a few _after _the first one."

"But we haven't even gone on a first one yet. How are you so sure you'd want to spend more time with me later? I could be insane or something." I laughed, probably jinxing my chances. When a guy like Tom says he wants to go out with you, obviously you don't argue with him!

"I feel like I've gotten lucky. Like I won something like the lottery or a really nice raffle prize." He stated, causing me to blush. "Which leads me to my third thought…" Tom trailed off, suddenly looking nervous.

"Go on…"

"All right… but…before I start, I completely understand if you're not into it or anything, okay? Like, if you don't want to, I get it. All right? So be completely honest with your answer and-"

"What is it?"

"Okay…" He glanced down at me one more time before taking a deep breath and continuing on. "What would you say if I thought that maybe we could kind of be more official?" He asked, looking skeptical.

"Like… a couple or something?" I asked, clarifying.

"If that's the term you like, then yes."

"You mean like a boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Sure, that too."

I considered what he was saying for a moment, trying to register it in my slowly churning brain. He actually wanted to _date _me?

"I mean, if you don't want to that's okay with me. We haven't even officially been on a date or anything but I actually think I like you and I know that right now it's just the beer making me say this out loud but I feel this way anyway and I know that I'll regret opening my big mouth tomorrow but oh well… and think! It'll be easier to talk to Danny about it if we actually are serious, right? I mean, he'd probably feel better knowing it's not just a fling or anything so that's always good. But-" I cut Tom off, pitying his awkward rambling.

"This isn't just about Danny, is it? That's not why we're rushing or anything, right?" I asked, clarifying once again.

"What? No. I totally just said that I like you, Em. But if you think it's a rush then that's okay, because we can go slower, right?" He still sounded extremely nervous.

"Tom. Pause and take a breath." I stated, putting my hands on his shoulders to stop him from his jittering back and forth. He stopped all his movements and looked me directly in the eyes. A moment later, he took a deep breath. I continued where he'd left off.

"Tom, I like you too. And every couple moves at their own pace, right? I don't think it's being rushed if we're getting together for us, you know? But if we're getting together just to set Danny straight, then we should probably wait." I stated, hoping that my answer had made sense.

Tom stared down at me for a hard moment. Part of me was worried that I had said something wrong. Was he mad about something?

"We're not getting together to set Danny straight." He finally clarified, speaking slowly.

"So… it's just for us, then?" What was with me and all the clarifications?

"Yeah." He laughed as he spoke, shaking his head in disbelief before clearing up one thing for himself. "So… you really don't think we're rushing? I mean, I know that I haven't properly taken you out or anything but I really like you and since when do relationships need to be based around dates anyway? It makes no-" I cut him off with a quick kiss.

"Tom, after I agree to date you you're supposed to kiss me." I stated as though it was obvious. "Not go on a rant about common society."

"Oh. My bad." He laughed, leaning down to reconnect our lips in an official, sealing kiss.


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for the reviews! They always make me want to update more. I hope you enjoy!!**

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I groggily awoke the next morning, stretching my limbs in every direction in order to get the crick out of my back. I was lying across Tom's couch, which had been backed up against the wall of his living room. Thankfully, I was only person on the couch and I had all of my possessions with me. After Tom and I left out private little closet session, my memory grew a bit hazy.

The room was too light. I slammed my eyelids shut after a quick peek, groaning slightly at the warm sunlight. I counted slowly to ten before carefully trying to open my eyes again.

I took in the environment around me, hoping something would jog my memory from the party. People were scattered all around the room, lying closely together across the floor. Not many people had stayed the night, but there were definitely a fair few by standards.

On the ground right beside the couch lay Tom, using one of the couch pillows underneath his head. I laughed slightly at the form of his sleeping figure, completely at ease with the entire situation.

I glanced down at my watch quickly, sighing when I realized that it was already way past noon. My stomach grumbled, angry that it had missed two meals already.

A quick survey of the room assured me that no other McFly guys were present, and I quickly leaned down to kiss Tom. Sure, it wasn't the best kiss we'd shared for a few key reasons: I had disgusting morning breath so it was a strictly closed-mouthed kiss, and the position I was in made it difficult to really reach him.

He responded well anyway.

"Good morning…" Tom mumbled sleepily a moment after I pulled away. His face pinched together, probably already sensing the amount of bright light in the room.

"Good _afternoon_." I replied back, my voice a tad bit horse.

"Right…" He agreed, slinging his arm over his face and rolling over onto his back. "There are a lot of people here, right?" He questioned, not bothering to look around for himself.

"There are quite a few, yes."

"I bet half of my stuff is either broken or missing."

"Didn't you think to hide your important stuff first?" I teased, dropping my hand over the side of the couch to lie across his chest.

"You'd think from the amount of parties we've had, I would've learned by now." He sighed, taking my hand in his free one. I chuckled, not bother to respond. A huge part of me wanted to just go back to sleep but I knew I needed to get back to Amanda at some point.

Oh crap. I had large amounts of homework to do, too.

"Tom? I need to go home." I sighed, still not bothering to move.

"No you don't." He disagreed, holding my hand a little bit tighter, like it would keep me there or something.

"I do. I have homework and Amanda probably thinks I'm dead…" I trailed off, peeling my eyes open once again. "Not to mention I think I could eat a horse right now." It wasn't supposed to sound as disgusting as I made it seem.

"I think I totally agree." Tom considered, peeling his arm back from his face and squinting his eyes in my direction. "Do you have time to eat first or do you want to go home?"

"Hm… depends on what's on the menu."

"Of course. Not because you'd be spending your time with me or anything like that."

"Oh yeah. That too." I smiled as I sat up, trying to pull Tom up with me. He was heavier then he looked. Or maybe it was just because I was the weakest person ever.

"I don't want to get up yet… five more minutes." He mumbled, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on my hand once again.

"I can promise you lovely treats if you get up." I bargained, resorting to the same tactic I used to use on my brother when we were younger. It was my job to wake him up in he morning if he broke his alarm clock out of tired anger.

"What kind of lovely treats?" Tom asked sounding interested.

"Whatever you want. You're choice, Mr. Fletcher."

"I'll have to brush my teeth first."

"… Thank you for the wonderful image." I laughed, pulling him up to a standing position. He groaned sleepily, running his hands repetitively over his face and hair. He led the way to the bathroom, allowing me full access to his little hairbrush and extra toothbrushes. I thanked him happily, running the comb through my hair.

It only took us a few minutes in the bathroom and then we headed to his kitchen. "Do you want a pain killer? I don't know about you, but I've got an annoying headache." He mumbled, reaching up into the little cabinet above his sink and pulling a small bottle out.

"That would be great." I sighed, taking the tiny white pills from his out stretched hands. He handed me his glass of water after he swallowed his own and I downed the half glass.

"Now… where to for breakfast?" I asked, suddenly waking up.

"Wait, wait. Wasn't I promised a lovely treat?" Tom asked, a small smile spreading across his face.

"I guess that was our agreement, huh?" I smiled back as he wrapped his arms around my waist. Tom and I kissed happily for a moment, not really paying attention to what was going on around us. Bodies started to slowly rise off the floor and meander around the rooms. I pulled away from Tom suddenly when I noticed Dougie's dirty blonde hair lift off the carpet.

_"Dog… I forgot to feed my dog…" _Dougie began mumbling over and over as he stumbled clumsily to his feet.

"Doug." I mumbled, stepping a foot away from Tom's warm body. He nodded in understanding, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the kitchen and away from peeping eyes. We went out the front door and across his driveway, heading directly for his mini-cooper.

"It looks like someone scratched around the key hole with some sharp object?" Tom said suddenly, looking very confused as he examined his car.

"Someone probably thought it was theirs."

"If someone was drunk enough to think that this was their car, I really hope they didn't actually find their own." Tom shuddered, unlocking the mini quickly for me to hop into the passenger's seat. The Eagles were playing from his stereo this time, the cool tones of Witchy Woman washing over us.

"So where to, Emily?" Tom asked after a moment, still wiping some of the sleep from his eyes.

"Somewhere with warm sandwiches and coffee." I replied back, not too specific.

"McDonald's is an option." He suggested, glancing over at me for my reactions.

"They have coffee?"

"Yeah, it's pretty decent."

"Sounds great, then." I agreed, not really caring what chemicals and disgusting fats I put into my body. Sure, I'd care later, but at the moment the only thing on my mind was food and caffeine.

Tom quickly drove through the streets, maneuvering perfectly through the traffic and directly into the McDonald's drive thru. We shouted our orders to the little box person and Tom paid at the end.

"You want like… two pounds?" I asked, offering the change over to him as he handed me my burger.

"Keep it." He laughed, rolling his eyes while pulling into a parking spot. We ate our meals quickly, barely registering the taste. Though that was probably for the greater good.

"So about our wonderful upcoming date, " Tom began, smiling over at me cheekily, sounding so much like a cornball.

"Your subtlety is amazing. I envy you."

"Oh I know." He laughed, sipping his coffee. "But seriously, you said Thursday's are good for you, right? You only have morning classes?" He asked, turning his body to face me while wiping his hands on a napkin.

I bit into my burger again, chewing before I spoke. "Thursday's are good, and so are Fridays. I only have one class on Friday and then it's the weekend."

"So is Friday better then?"

"Well… it's farther away then Thursday." I laughed, sipping my own coffee.

"Correct you are. I think that's why I'm more in favor of Thursday."

"I think I agree." I nodded, smiling as we casually discussed our date. I had never experienced anything like this before. It was all so easy. "What will we be doing?"

"Are you too cool for the dinner and a movie kind of thing? I could think of something more original if you'd like." Tom suggested.

"It just so happens that I'm completely content with just dinner and a movie." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Are you always like this with the girls you date, Tom? This feels so easy and natural." I admitted, finishing off my burger.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. It's not usually like this." He laughed quietly, a small thoughtful expression appearing on his face. I blushed slightly, trying to hide the flattery that came with his statement. He was enjoying himself, right?

"You're right." I nodded, thinking to myself as well. Tom's expression changed from thoughtful to excite as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove back onto the highway.

"So I'll pick you up at seven on Thursday, then?" He laughed, heading back in the general direction of my school.

"Perfect."


	20. Chapter 20

Ooh, confliction. It's it just a lovely reoccurring theme?

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"Mandy? I'm home!" I called out, dropping my bag onto the couch and pulling a water bottle out of our little fridge as I returned from my breakfast/lunch with Tom. I felt kind of like I was living in a fictional book. Every step I took around Tom and every word I spoke sounded too good to be true. It couldn't be real.

"There you are!" She exclaimed, walking out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. "I was about to put in a missing person's report!" Her face showed she was teasing me.

"They would've just called you crazy and sent you home." I laughed, moving across the room to flop on my bed.

"So? How was your night?" She asked me excitedly, moving through her drawers to find her clothes.

"It was… absolutely great." I sighed, pulling my pillow over my face as I smiled widely. I probably looked so dorky.

"Tell me about it. I want to know _everything_. Was that Tom guy there?" Her muffled voice asked as her drawers closed. I pulled the pillow back so I could speak better, my excitement rushing through my veins all at once.

"Oh god, Mandy! He was and it was just… perfect. We were playing this drinking game and we kind of snuck away from my brother. He was looking for us so Tom and I hid in his hall closet… Amanda, he asked me to go out with him." I laughed, still trying to grasp onto reality.

"No way! Was he drunk?"

"No… not really. I mean we were all slightly buzzed but… I said yeah. Tom and I are together now." I spoke aloud, trying to register the thought in my mind.

"This is so great!" Amanda squeaked, jumping onto my bed. I hadn't even noticed that she'd fully changed already. "Tell me about him. Do I get to meet him soon? He better be good for you, Em… but he sent you fruit so obviously he's adorable and-" I laughed nervously, cutting Amanda off before she could continue on.

She wanted to _meet _him. My eyes glanced over to her McFly wall, Tom's smiling face looking down at me with a secret look. Amanda pretty much already _knew _Tom.

"I don't know when you'd be able to meet him… he's actually in a band. He's so good too." I sighed, trailing off.

"Have I heard of the band?"

"I don't know… maybe." I shrugged my shoulders, my heart beating quickly. "Anyway, I think I really like him, Amanda. He's funny and sweet… and he's not really like any of the other guys I've been with… And I know how cliché that sounds but I just can't describe it. I actually think he likes me." I laughed, unable to believe it.

"He sounds cute."

"He is! Tom has this awkward obsession with Star Wars. We watched it together when I baked cookies with him, remember? I don't know if I told you about it. Anyway, he literally gave me a play-by-play of everything that was happening because he's seen them all a thousand times. Seriously, it was adorable." I sighed, shaking my head.

"That's wicked cool. What does your brother think about all this?" Amanda asked, her eyes curious.

"We… well, we haven't really spoke to him about it yet… actually…" I trailed off, remembering that I never quite said goodbye to Danny. I hadn't seen him at all before I left the party.

I grabbed my bag off the couch and pulled my mobile out. I had no new texts or calls, so I sent one to my brother.

Txt To: Dan Cell

**Hey sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. I had to get back to school. Great party! See you soon. Love you!**

"Hope he doesn't worry like last time." I chuckled quietly to myself as I slid my phone back into my bag. Amanda waited patiently for me to get back on my bed before she started her interrogation again.

"Okay, so tell me more about Tom. How old is he? Does he go to school?" She asked, interested.

"He's twenty-three, so he's not much older then me. And he doesn't go to school because of his band…" We were entering dangerous territory. Amanda seemed as though she was going to interrupt so I quickly switched topics. "The party last night was kind of wild, though. There were _so _many people there. Seriously. My brother started getting mad part of the way in, telling people off who didn't know who Tom was and stuff. It was really funny."

"I can imagine. That sounds awesome, seriously. I really want to meet this Tom person!" She laughed, though I thought I could see a hint of suspicion cross her face.

"Sure. I'll see what we can do, yeah?" Oh god. I was lying.

"Totally." She agreed, hopping off my bed to go back to the homework that was laid out across her bed. I groaned suddenly, remembering my own work. I pulled my backpack off of the floor to take my different papers out.

My mind was only half focused on the work in front of me. I couldn't help but worry about involving Amanda into my Tom Fletcher life. Was I ruining everything I had built for myself over the past five years? I should have just kept my mouth shut and never mentioned a thing about him.

But I was so happy! I wanted to scream to the _world _just how freaking happy I was. Tom Fletcher was my boyfriend. It still sounded so new and… exciting! Why did I always have to mess things up and worry about them?

I had told too much to Amanda. I hadn't told Danny enough. Dougie could've seen us this morning. Jake and Andrea would probably shun me if they ever found out.

I wasn't sure which thought should occupy my mind the most. They were all absolutely annoying. What was I doing wrong? How could I make things easier?

Well, I could tell everyone the truth. I was brought up not to lie, especially to my family and friends. God, I was such a hypocrite!

But telling the truth would be so hard. At least when I was lying I still had everyone happily in my life. If I told the truth, they would all be really mad. None of them would even look at me.

But I guess that's all my fault, isn't it?

Why did life have to be so mother trucking complicated?


	21. Chapter 21

Wow! This was just going to be a filler and then at the end I got this BOOM idea so now I have another… event? Yes. We'll call it that.

**Thank you reviewers! I feel like I haven't been giving you guys enough credit through this story. I love you, really. **

**Enjoy**

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I considered Mondays to be my laundry days even though I never really meant for it to be that way. It worked out for Amanda as well, seeing as Mondays were her day off. She wasn't taking quite as many classes as I was, but that was because she knew what she wanted to be when she left school. I was still completely and utterly clueless.

"You dropped a sock." Amanda came up beside me, handing over the blue and yellow garment. I thanked her, taking it from her hand and plopping it directly on top of my large hamper.

I hated doing laundry. The only redeeming quality was that I smelled decent in the end… but other then that, it completely sucked. Laundry took a lot of time and was boring. It cost me money and I always ended up loosing at least one article of clothing.

So yeah, I wasn't a laundry fan.

"Hey, there are two free ones over at the end." Amanda pointed out as we entered the basement of our dorm building. A few of our peers were sat on top of washers, headphones in their ears and magazines in their laps as they waited for their wash. Amanda and I maneuvered our way around piles of clothes and empty hampers. Another Monday.

We spoke lightly of our classes as we loaded our clothes and paid for the wash. Following the examples around the room, we both jumped on top of our machines and pulled out our ipods. Sitting on the machines was completely against the rules but none of the administrators ever came to check on us. They all probably remembered their laundry days from college.

I set my music to shuffle and pulled one of my library books out of my bag. Light reading was a hobby of mine, really. There was never a time when I wasn't involved in some kind of story.

At the moment I was reading the first book in a series by Dean Koontz. The book, Odd Thomas, was exactly my kind of reading. A bit of sci-fi mixed with humor and a tad bit of love. Where could I go wrong?

I stopped reading after a moment. The protagonist's name was really Odd Thomas. _Thomas_. Tom.

Why couldn't I just get him off my mind? It was only Monday! I still had three days to go until our date… It seemed like forever.

As I folded the page of Odd Thomas back down, Amanda hit the pause button on her ipod and looked over at me with some sort of curiosity upon her face.

"What?" I asked, pausing my own ipod as well. Why was her expression so peculiar?

"No… it's nothing…" She trailed off, her look spacing out. I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly concerned. Amanda was usually one to speak her mind.

"Are you alright?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to see what could've upset her. No one was behind me apart from a foreign exchanged student doing his laundry, dropping his soap clumsily. We had something seriously in common.

"I'm fine… Just thinking…" She trailed off, her far away look changing and focusing on me instead. I was definitely worried as I considered what she could possibly be thinking.

"You sure?" I prodded, worried.

"Yeah… it's just…" Her thoughtful eyes glanced down at her ipod, reading the screen quickly before she finished her sentence. "I just had the weirdest thought." Amanda's puzzled expression never faltered.

"About what?"

"You know McFly?" She began, looking over at me oddly again. I had a deep suspicion that I knew exactly where she was going with her thoughts. I wasn't quite sure if I was terrified or relieved.

"Yeah? What about them?"

"One of their lead singers is a guy named Tom," Her tone didn't sound accusing, just thoughtful.

"I know," I couldn't deny it. Playing dumb was the last thing on my mind.

"The dude you're dating is named Tom… It's just a bit weird. I'm just noticing it now and-" She looked like she was about to ramble on right before the sound of my phone beeping cut her off. I pulled my headphone buds out of my ears while taking my phone out of my pocket quickly.

Speak of the mother-freaking devil and he will arrive.

"Hey…" I trailed off, reactively sighing happily as I answered the call.

_"Hey! … Are you near someone punching something?" _Tom asked, confused.

"What? No?"

_"Then where are you? I hear wicked pounds."_

"I'm doing my laundry. I think you're hearing the dryers." I laughed slightly, glancing over at Amanda quickly to see her turn her ipod back on, her thoughtful expression still evident upon her face. We weren't finished talking.

_"That makes a lot more sense then you in a boxing arena." _

"Does it really sound like that?"

_"Yeah, seriously. Anyway, I was just calling to say hey. Can you talk?" _

"I'm doing laundry, Tom. I might die from boredom." A lot of implications weaved through my words.

_"Oh sorry I didn't pick up on that in the beginning, Em." _He replied sarcastically, laughing slightly.

"You're forgiven. You're lucky I'm so desperate for communication though, because otherwise you'd hear a long low beep from this end of the line, my friend."

_"Is that a threat?" _

"You better believe. I can be pretty freaking scary." I grinned, completely content with hearing his voice. I would be able to read Odd Thomas peacefully again for a few hours before my Tom Addiction starting caving again.

Tom and I chatted the entire time my clothes washed. I had to put the receiver down while I changed them over to the dryer and slid in the coins for it to start, but we picked right up where we'd left off. I wasn't quite sure if our massively long conversation was because we seriously enjoyed a sweaty phone pressed to our ears or if I was just avoiding Amanda's questions.

It might've been equal, actually.

I knew I was going to have to answer to Amanda eventually. It was pretty much impossible to avoid your roommate, especially one like Amanda. She would hunt me down if the need were necessary.

_"Have you ever met Dougie's dog?" _Tom asked me randomly as I slowly pulled my clothes out one-handed from the warm dryer.

That moment was the only moment I really enjoyed doing laundry. When all of your clothes are so hot they nearly burn you and all you really want to do is put on every piece of clothing you own just to feel the warmth all over you… but you cant because after a moment the heat fades away and is replaced with the normal room-temperature coolness.

"He has a dog?" I asked, beginning to fold the chilling items.

_"Yeah. It's only about a year old or so. His name is Flea, you know, after the Red Hot Chili Pepper's bassists. And… well it's just an awesome name for a dog." _

"I'm not sure if 'awesome' is the term I'd use."

_"Well… yeah I guess you're right… but anyway, I'm dog sitting right now because Doug's out on a date. I never knew how hard taking care of a freaking dog was. He's everywhere at the exact same time! And I swear his tail has left marks on my walls."_

"But I bet you love every minute of it." I smiled, packing my clothes carefully back into my hamper.

_"… Okay, maybe when he's cute and licks my cheeks like he's giving me kisses it's okay… but otherwise I never want a dog." _

"I bet you do."

_"… Okay, maybe I do. Would you stop convincing me that I want something when I probably would kill it anyway?" _

"You'd kill a dog? I'll be honest, I had more faith in you then that," I stated, glancing over at Amanda to see that she was done as well. We both picked up our baskets and made the annoying trip back up three flights of stairs.

_"Well, obviously I wouldn't kill it on purpose. But-" _Tom stopped speaking for a moment, tearing off mid-sentence. I stopped walking when his voice disappeared, confusion rippling through me. His breathing was evident on the other end but it was like he'd forgotten he was talking to me.

"Tom? Are you okay?" I asked, confused. Amanda stopped walking as well, looking back at me with concern. Her eyes were wide as I gently put my basket on the floor.

_"Em…" _Tom trailed off sounding very serious.

"Tom, what's going on? What happened?"

_"Dogs can't eat chocolate," _He stated, sounding like a droid. The sound of ruffling aluminum foil crackled from his end of the line.

"Yeah, it's like a poison to them but what does that-" I broke off suddenly realizing what happened. "Oh no!" I gasped, my hand flying up to my mouth in horror.

"What? What's going on?" Amanda asked, looking worried. I didn't answer her straight away seeing as Tom had started speaking again.

_"He got into my cupboard! Oh no, Em what do I do? He's… it was the baking chocolate we used to make the cookies… oh god, what do I do? He's… he's lying down and breathing but his eyes are closed and-" _I cut Tom off, pacing back and forth wildly in the hallway. Amanda looked on, her face showing her confusion and sympathy at the exact same time.

I needed to calm him down.

"Tom, take a deep breath, okay? Now, did he eat a lot of chocolate?" I asked, using some of my knowledge on animals to offer some kind of help.

_"He ate a bar I think… but it was unsweetened… does that mean anything? I think he ate the paper too… God, he's throwing up now." _Tom's voice cracked slightly in the end.

"That's good, Tom. That's actually good. Here, listen to me, okay? Did Dougie leave you a list of emergency numbers? The vet or anything?" I asked, running through possible alternatives if Dougie hadn't.

_"Yeah… yeah, he did. I need to call the vet, right? I should call Dougie, too. But- damn he's at a movie! His phone will be turned off and-"_

"Tom. Chill. Just breathe and… call the vet." I told him, trying to get him back on track.

_"Right, right, the vet. I'm going to need to hang up, then…" _He sounded uneasy at the thought.

"Do you want me to come over?" I asked, not wanting Tom to have to deal with everything alone.

_"… Would you?"_

"I'm leaving right now," I stated, throwing Amanda a goodbye glance before taking off back down the stairs, leaving my hamper lying across the hallway.

_"Thanks."_

"No problem. Now when the vet shows up he's going to probably make Flea drink peroxide. That'll help him throw the rest of the chocolate up."

_"What if it doesn't all come up?" _Tom asked, worried.

"It will. Don't doubt the peroxide. It's a disgusting miracle."

_"Right… okay."_

"Call the vet and then call me back, all right?" I asked, arriving slightly breathlessly at the bus station.

_"Yeah. Thank you, Em." _

"See you in twenty minutes."


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! My friend's laptop broke so she got a new one and then gave me the old one. Guess what? It DIDN'T BREAK! I got it to work. It's lovely. And amazing. And ten times better then my old computer. Like seriously. **

**So I want to thank EVERYBODY for the amazing reviews from last chapter. They made me laugh and smile and love writing. Thank you. =]**

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I quickly ran down the McFly Street, nervously checking every second on my watch as I sped towards Tom's front door. There was a sleek black car parked in this driveway, blocking his blue mini-cooper in the back. I assumed it was the veterinarian.

"Tom?" I called, running into the house without knocking. Common curtsey wasn't really the top of my priorities at the moment.

"Kitchen!" He called back, anxiously. I maneuvered my way through the rooms, entering the brightly lit kitchen at high speed. A middle-aged woman stood against the counter, looking down to the ground with warm sympathy. Normally a look like that would've had me worried, but I realized she must've just thought the situation was unfortunate. I needed to keep a level head and not freak out.

I followed her gaze to a large puppy lying widely across the floor, whining lightly. Dougie's chocolate lab was having one hell of an evening.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Jameson." The woman said, lifting her head up to nod at me lightly. I noticed a large white bottle settled on the counter next to her with a measuring spoon beside it. I had assumed right with the peroxide.

"I'm Emily." I replied back, glancing sideways to finally notice Tom.

His hair had begun to stand up in the back from the countless time's he must've run his hands through it. His brown eyes were wide with anxiety and his hands were crossed tightly in front of his chest. He was completely worried.

"The lovely girlfriend," Dr. Jameson finished, smiling at me kindly. I blushed and glanced over at Tom who's face had turned just as red as mine. I guess neither of us were quite used to official terms yet.

"This is her," Tom smiled, his face still in full blush. I bit my lip and walked quietly across the room, choosing to stand beside him. Tom sighed and uncrossed his arms, tiredly slinging one around my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. In such a terrifying situation, it was such a nice moment.

"Tom told me you pretty much saved his butt, here." The doctor chuckled politely as Flea whined loudly again. I cringed, knowing there was nothing I could do.

"I don't know about that," I laughed lightly, glancing over at him subtly.

"Don't be so modest. If it weren't for you, I'd still be freaking out and yelling angrily into the phone." Tom chuckled, tightening his grip around my shoulder. I just continued to blush in response, not really knowing how to reply.

"Um… so how long ago did Flea get the peroxide?" I asked curiously, looking for something to refocus the attention.

"Just before you walked in, actually. Should be any minute now…" Dr. Jameson trailed off, sighing tiredly. I easily maneuvered out of Tom's grip and bent down next to the small dog on the floor.

Well, actually, he wasn't that small. Obviously he had a little more growing to do but he was closer to being full sized then to being a puppy.

I reached forward and lightly scratched underneath his ears, cooing quietly to him. This was the worst part for any dog, being forced to throw something back up. He just needed a bit of comfort.

Tom sat on the ground next to me, stroking Flea's back softly. Dr. Jameson began to gather paper towels, readying herself for clean up.

A moment later, Flea started to dry heave. I watched as the muscles in his stomach contracted, trying to get the toxins out.

I turned away, hoping to avoid seeing the actual puking. Normally I'm not too squeamish, but I just don't like it when things that are supposed to be _inside _you start to come out. Blood, spit, snot, and vomit… you get the idea.

Tom allowed me to hide my head in his shoulder as Flea heaved. Dr. Jameson wordlessly cleaned it up for a few minutes, waiting for the dog to empty his stomach. I could smell the peroxide and I had to plug my nose from the scent. Tom made a disgusted noise, not able to completely cover it up.

A few minutes later Dr. Jameson announced that Flea would be fine. I sighed happily, turning back to look at the tired dog. His tail beat limply on the ground as his heaves stopped. I had to admit; it was kind of adorable watching his little brown tail flop up and down.

"Could you tell Mr. Poynter that I'll need him to call me tomorrow? I just need to go over what we did tonight and what he should look out for." She explained as she cleaned up her small carrying kit and headed for the door.

"Sure thing. Thank you so much, by the way." Tom said earnestly as he stood up and held a hand out for me. I took it, allowing him to pull me up to my feet in one swift movement.

"It's my job. I love animals." She said simply, leaving the house with one finale wave over her shoulder. I liked her.

"So I've had my heart attack of the day. I've decided that I will never get a dog. That's final." He stated, taking my hand and leading me towards his living room. Flea gave us an annoyed bark and picked himself up off the floor, upset that he wasn't the center of attention anymore.

"I don't know. I think you handled the situation nicely." Could he see past my fake smile? It didn't matter anyway as he led me to the couch, but didn't let me sit down. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before his arms slid around my waist.

"No, _you _handled the situation nicely. I probably would've gone into some kind of insane mode if I hadn't been talking to you in the first place."

"To put it lightly," I laughed, twisting my arms around his neck happily. He laughed as well before pulling me in a falling motion onto the couch. I collapsed next to him, my arms supporting his neck and his arms cushioning my fall.

"Why did I agree to dog-sit in the first place? I know absolutely nothing about dogs. Cats on the other hand, I can handle them. You just let them lose and they pretty much can make it on their own." Tom ranted while absentmindedly rubbing small circles around my hips. I could barely concentrate on his words while his fingers moved. It was so relaxing…

"So maybe Flea's not as easy as a cat. He's still got his looks though." I shrugged, glancing down at the dog sat at our feet. Flea smiled up at us, showing us all his teeth and sticking his tongue out.

"That's not very attractive." Tom commented, pulling a face.

"What are you talking about? It's adorable." I leaned down and held Flea's big head in my hands, scratching behind my ears. "Who's a good stupid dog? Flea is!" Does everyone make the stupid dog-voice when talking to a canine?

Flea's tail beat heavily on the floor, shaking some of the ornaments around the room. Tom glared down at the dog, causing the shaking to abruptly seize.

"I've got to say, you've got some serious dog control, Tom." I laughed, leaning away from Flea and worming my way back into Tom's embrace.

"Yeah well, I'm Master Fletcher. Everything and everyone bows down to me." He smiled, my favorite dimple appearing on his cheek practically smiling up at me like it was it's own person.

"Everyone?" I glared playfully, pulling back slightly.

"Well, not you. You don't have to bow down. We can rule together." He negotiated reasonably. I laughed and laid my head down on his chest, shaking slightly from my laughter. One of his free hands went up to play with my hair, casually playing with my little curls. What? I was a Jones.

After a few moments of silence, Tom sighed and spoke again.

"Seriously, Em. Thanks for coming out." I pulled away from his chest to see a little smile across his face. He was being completely sincere.

"You're welcome. How could I not come, seeing as I'm the lovely girlfriend?" I laughed, somehow more accustomed to the term coming from my own lips. It was easier to say then to hear.

Tom blushed again, his eyes closing slightly as he laughed. When his eyes reopened, he held my face between both his palms and kissed me.

I could definitely get used to kissing Tom. Not in a bad way, like it would grow old, but in an awesomely good way where I wouldn't want to stop. At all.

It wasn't even explainable really. His kissed were light and joyful at times, and then completely serious the next moment. It would switch back and forth, causing my emotions to fly sky high like some kind of colorful dance. I had no idea how to describe it with words. I needed a wider vocabulary.

Tom had me lying on the couch as he held himself lightly off of me. Even with my past boyfriends I had always considered vertical kissing something extremely intimate and kind of serious. I mean seriously, you were literally pressed up against one another _lying _down. What would come next?

But with Tom it was kind of natural like it was just what was convenient for the time. I was able to wrap my arms comfortably around his neck and play with his hair while his massaging fingers made small circles on my hips. Neither of us were planning anything or seeing how far we could go… it was all just natural.

Tom pulled his lips away from mine and kissed my neck. To be honest, my neck was my serious weak spot. I was literally putty in his hands from that moment onward.

What really freaked me out though was when I felt a wet nose move across my shoulder. For a moment I honestly considered it to be Tom. I almost freaked out on him before I remembered we weren't entirely alone.

"Flea!" I laughed, pulling away from the edge of the couch sharply. Tom lost his balance in his upper body and dropped, falling softly onto my chest.

Well, honestly it was a bit awkward.

He picked himself up laughing and we both turned to look at the dog that stared back at us, his little doggy smile on his face. He barked loudly, causing Tom and I to jump. Dogs…

"What'd he do that made you freak?" Tom laughed, turning back to me with his smile still evident upon his face.

"Well… his nose is kind of cold… and wet." I admitted, feeling slightly foolish. Tom stared down at me for a moment before he burst out laughing, leaning his head down so his chin touched his own chest.

"It's not that funny!" I argued, trying not to laugh myself.

"Right. Sorry. Not funny." He mumbled, picking his head back up to look at me in amusement. I rolled my eyes, leaning up to kiss him quickly.

"I need to get back to school." I sighed, pulling away after a moment.

"Hm? School? What school?" He asked, capturing my lips once again. I chuckled though I couldn't quite make myself pull away.

"Dougie will be here soon." I mumbled after awhile, still trying to get myself out.

"He can wait on the porch." Tom mumbled back, sounding serious.

"Want to go for a ride, Flea?" I asked, smirking happily when the sound of the Labrador's tail smacked loudly on the ground.

"Evil. Pure evil." Tom sighed, kissing me one last time before standing up and taking his keys out of his pocket.

"Look, Flea really _did_ leave a mark on the wall!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey everyone! There are roughly 7 more chapters of this story, ending it on a nice even 30. I've very happy with the way it turned out. STAY TUNED!! **

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_"Does this week feel like it's going by amazingly slow to you?_" Tom's voice rang in my ear as I walked across campus to Andrea's room. I pulled my coat tighter around me, trying to block the onslaught of chilling winds.

"Well… Monday we saved a dog from poison, yesterday I had two exams and a paper due, today I nearly overslept because I've been subtly avoiding my roommate, and tomorrow we have our long awaited date. Does that cover just about everything?" I marked off, opening the door and entering overheated warmth. It felt amazing.

_"You're week has been more interesting then mine." _Tom defended, stubbornly.

"That's what they all say."

_"No, seriously. Monday was the only interesting thing as of right now. Yesterday I went to your brother's place and we played Xbox all day long. I'm not even lying. I think we forgot to eat." _

"That can't be healthy."

_"You don't even want to know how we went to the bathroom._

"No, I really don't." I laughed, knocking repeatedly on Andrea's door until she finally pulled it open. She glared in mock frustration at the phone attached to my ear, dramatically sighing as I entered the room. Theater Majors… so dramatic…

_"But hey, why are you avoiding your roommate? I thought you two got on well… apart from her weird obsession with us. Did I ever tell you that I think she has the most pictures of us that I've ever seen? Seriously, I didn't even know some of those photos were taken." _

"She's got her mysterious ways," I chuckled, avoiding his initial question. For all Tom knew, Amanda was fully informed of our relationship. He had no idea that he was pretty much a secret… but neither did Danny, really. "I've got to go, Tom. Andrea's giving me this evil glare that will probably have me drop dead in a few seconds." I sighed loudly, causing her to roll her eyes and flip me the bird. Such a lovely friend…

_"She can't kill you now!! Tell her she has to wait till after tomorrow!" _Tom laughed, speaking loudly.

"Thanks Tom. I'm safe for one day, huh?" I rolled my eyes, teasing.

_"Hey, beggars can't be choosers. Take what you can get." _

"Bye Tom!" I called, hitting the end button of my phone rather hardly. Andrea laughed lightly and flopped onto her bed where Jake was waiting patiently.

"We want to meet this Tom guy." She spoke, gesturing between her and her boy-toy.

"You do, do you?" I asked, taking my seat on her beanbag chair and avoiding eye contact.

"Yes, we do. Come on, Em, you've always introduced us to your guys. Why not him? Is he wicked ugly or something?" Andrea joked.

"No, it's not that…" I trailed off, trying to find an excuse. "I told you he was in a band. He's just busy." It didn't sound very convincing.

"You better make sure he's not busy with other people, Em." Jake warned, shaking a finger threateningly in my direction.

"He's not like that." I defended as they attacked me. This wasn't fair.

"How are you so sure?" Andrea asked, looking concerned. I knew it was all in my best interest, but wasn't this something that they needed to butt out on? This was kind of personal stuff.

"Guys, I've known him for years. I can tell you that he really isn't like a lot of other guys. Trust me." I smiled as Tom's features ran through my head. I thought of the way his face scrunched together when I made him laugh or when he'd run his hands across his neck when he was nervous… His cute embarrassed smile when people complimented him…

"She's off in la-la land." Jake's voice broke through my thoughts, bringing me back down to earth.

"What? No I'm not."

"Yeah? Then what'd I just say?" He asked, arching an eyebrow curiously.

"Um…" He'd said something?

"Ha, got you." Jake laughed, clapping his hands together happily.

"Anyway," Andrea rolled her eyes at her boyfriend before addressing me again. "What I mean is that I'm only thinking like this because I have _no idea _what he's really like. I'm mean, you tell me stuff but he could be an evil brain washer or something." Her face did truly look concerned.

"Don't worry, Andrea. He's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine." I said, waving my hands around animatedly as I spoke.

"Fine." She laughed, waving her hands and mocking me.

"We actually have a date tomorrow… is it horrible that I'm like wicked excited?" I asked them, trying not to sound too immature.

All I could _think _about was this date. I'd been on endless dates in my life yet none really excited me as much as Tom's did. Even though we'd already seen each other, the date seemed to be more like some kind of stepping stone that would really define what we were. It would make it fresh and official all at the exact same time.

I could not wait.

"It's not horrible, no. It's cute." Andrea smiled, looking excited as well. "Is he picking you up here?" She asked, interested.

"Well…yeah. But it's when you have history." I replied, trying to sound sad. Really, I had planned it that way. I was a horrible friend.

"Damn, I have biology at that time." Jake shook his head, upset.

I'd planned that, too.

"We're meeting a movie schedule." I explained, hoping it was a good enough reason. They seemed to understand.

"Does Amanda get to meet him, then? Maybe I'll have to get the scoop from her." Andrea drifted off, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

"She's got Psychology then." I added, shrugging my shoulders.

"So what? Now no one gets to meet your mysterious boy? No fair." Jake frowned, sounding too much like a girl. It was entertaining, though.

"Sorry Jake. No fun gossip for you to spread." I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed with his weird craving to discuss people's personal lives.

"I told you, I like a good slice of nice juicy gossip just like the next person." He didn't seem upset at all.

"Well good for you then."

"Yeah, good for me."

I couldn't tell if we were arguing or agreeing.


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm sorry if a random line appears in the text somewhere. I CAN'T get it out. GAH. I spent nearly a half hour playing around Word trying to get rid of it (I lost the entire document once… scary!) but I can't. So I'm sorry. Just ignore it?**

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_"And I'm glad I crashed the wedding! It's better than regretting! Um-da-di-da-di-da-d-DIDN'T WANT HIS SILLY SECOND NAME!" _I awkwardly sang Busted's Crashed The Wedding at the top of my lungs and I ran shampoo through my hair. My roommate was out at her class, I had the entire dorm to my self, and Tom would be over in less then an hour to take me out on our long awaited date.

I couldn't describe exactly how I was feeling. Obviously I was excited, but there was also this kind of nervous feeling lurking inside me. This was me and Tom. Going out on a date.

It was like some different planet…

But there was also this other kind of nervousness in me… like I was terrified that something would go terribly wrong and ruin everything. I knew I was just worrying myself to death like I normally did, but I couldn't shake the feeling.

I jumped out of the shower and quickly towel dried my body off before throwing on my already prepared outfit. It was nothing special really, seeing as my budget for clothes was only enough for articles off the sales rack. I threw on a pair of casual jeans and a nice blue top. It was sleeveless and had a cute little tie in the back. It would be enough for a date, right?

I finished changing and quickly blow-dried my hair; my natural curls swirling down from my scalp anyway. As I was applying my basic make-up consisting of just mascara and eyeliner, I heard loud knocks repeatedly bouncing off my front door.

Tom was here.

I threw down my make-up and grabbed my large black Beatles bag off of the counter, throwing it over my shoulder in excitement. I quickly walked towards the door and pulled it open, smiling the entire time.

Tom stood on the other side, a nervous smile plastered upon his face when he finally came into view. I laughed quietly to myself as I noted one of his dark blue Star Wars shirts appeared from below a nice suit jacket. He wore dark jeans and converses to complete his Tom Fletcher outfit. What could I say? He was my dork.

"Hey," I sighed, forgetting that I sounded completely idiotic.

"Hey," He replied, smiling down at me before stretching out his hand. "Let's go."

Tom drove us a few minutes away from the school, pulling up to the center of town that had a lot of local shops and restaurants. We decided on a casual Italian place, located in a small corner shop. It was warm and cozy, smelling heavily of pasta sauce and garlic. I could easily imagine the place becoming a regular favorite in my book.

"Two, please?" Tom asked politely to a woman standing next to a small podium. She smiled warmly and led us to a small two-person table in the corner, welcoming us kindly with a strong Italian accent.

This place was definitely a favorite… and I hadn't even tried the food.

"I feel like I could eat everything in here just by the smells." I commented as we sat down, inhaling deeply through my nostrils.

"That's their plan. They probably hang up little Italian air fresheners and light some candles that make it seem so appetizing." Tom's expression was oddly serious. I quirked an eyebrow curiously. "I'm just kidding." He laughed, shaking his head.

Tom and I continued our meal with comfortable conversation. It was as though we'd been with each other all day every day for the past week. The stupid smile wouldn't come off my face even if I tried to frown.

"What?" Tom laughed as I watched him gingerly pick up his fork and twirl his spaghetti.

"I'm watching to see how you eat your pasta. Basically, I'm judging our entire relationship on your technique so get it right." I informed him, staring at him seriously. His eyes widened momentarily before his fork stopped twirling. He carefully brought the few strips of pasta to his mouth and slurped them, looking unsure.

"Was that good enough?" He laughed after he finished chewing.

"You're lucky your nerdiness is such a turn on, because that wasn't very graceful." I sighed dramatically. I give complete credit to Andrea; she taught me everything I know.

"Well I'm glad that I at least have one redeeming quality." He rolled his eyes, staring at me determinedly. "Your turn."

We finished up our dinner in no rush, leaving the restaurant only just after the sun had set. I wasn't really paying attention to where Tom was headed as he spoke animatedly about the tricks and jokes McFly had gotten up to recently. It was weird hearing about my brother from someone else's point of view, but I didn't really mind. It was a different side of Danny that I never really got to know.

"Tom? Are we at your house?" I asked, finally glancing out my window to his stucco colored home. When had we arrived here?

"Well, yeah. I have a better movie selection then any of the theaters right now. The films out now really aren't that good…" He trailed off, suddenly looking worried. "But if you want to go see something we can go right now-" I cut him off with a single kiss to his cheek.

"You have better movies anyway."

He laughed and we exited his car, meeting at the same time on the path up to his house and he led me to the front door by the hand. Why had I worried about something going wrong? Everything was perfect.

We walked into the living room and examined his DVD collection. I had pulled out League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen while Fight Club appeared in his hands.

"Why do you only have good movies? This would be such an easier decision if they were crap." I groaned, looking down at the films we held.

"Sorry, I'll think about that with my future purchases." He glanced back and forth between our two choices, a decisive expression on his face. "How about we rocks, paper, scissors it?" He suggested.

"Or we could flip a coin."

"Too many things go wrong with flipping a coin."

"How? It has two sides!"

"How about we rocks, paper, scissor our decision on how to choose a movie? Best two out of three."

"Or… we could flip a coin."

Our ridiculous argument lasted for a good five minutes. Somehow in our debate Tom had taken Fight Club out of it's case and popped it into the player.

"But… The League never even got a chance." I sighed, looking up at the television as the menu appeared.

"Want to still rocks, paper, scissors it?" Tom smiled, leading me back to the couch and pulling me down beside him gracefully. I shook my head and snuggled into him.

How pathetic is that word? _Snuggled_. It sounded like I was talking about a big teddy bear or something. Tom could be a teddy bear I guess… he was cute and cuddly… but how annoying was the word _cuddle? _How come I couldn't find a more suiting word in my vocabulary for Tom? Just one word that wasn't as…demeaning.

"What do you think about the word cuddle?" I asked randomly as we watched Tyler Durdan form his Fight Club Army. I'd been processing the thought for some time.

"What? Why? I guess it's… kind of cute?" Tom replied, his answer sounding more like a question as though he was trying to give the answer that I'd want to hear.

"Do you think _you're_ cuddly?" I asked curiously.

"I could consider myself to be quite cuddly sometimes, yes."

"So in my head I can think _I'm cuddling with Tom_?" It still sounded stupid.

"It's better then _snuggling_." He laughed, pulling me closer and wrapping his arm around me.

Yeah. It was way better then snuggling.

"And _embracing _sounds too formal, right?" I asked a few moments later, thoughts flying through my mind.

"Yeah. Way too formal." He agreed, his eyes never leaving the T.V. screen. He was such a man.

"I'll find a good word at some point." I told him, knowing fully well he wasn't really paying attention anymore.

The movie continued on efficiently reclaiming my attention. I loved the writing in Fight Club. Even though it annoyed the crap out of me that you're never told the main character's real name, it was still really awesome. Maybe the fact that he's only mention as the narrator is _why _it was awesome.

"Em? You awake?" Tom whispered to me, his arm lightly running up and down my own.

"Hm? Yep." I replied, sitting up lightly and stretching. "That was good."

"Better then The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen?" He asked, a small smirk playing across his face as he helped me up from the couch.

"Was it better then Star Wars?" I asked him rhetorically, following him out the front door and back to his mini.

"Nothing is better then Star Wars." He stated seriously, opening my door before heading over to his own. I smiled slightly, unable to hide how cute his gentlemanliness was.

We drove back to my school, reveling happily through our night. It had been and utter and complete success in my book. Could things get even better?

"You want to come up?" I asked after I checked my watch. Amanda had night classes and wouldn't be home until really late. We definitely had time.

"Can I?" He asked, kind of shocked.

"Of course. You can just park right here." I shrugged my shoulders, unbuckling myself and stepping out of his car. Tom hopped out as well, meeting me on my side and taking my hand in his. We walked up the stairs and I grabbed my key from my bag, unlocking the door and letting us in.

"Did I ever tell you how much I _love _your room?" Tom laughed as he entered, walking straight over to Amanda's side and staring at her McFly wall.

"You do realize that's technically not my part of the room?" I asked, setting my stuff down to join him.

"That's my favorite picture." Tom laughed, pointing to one where all of the boys were dressed up at women. It must've been for Transylvania.

"That's mine." I pointed to the picture I'd noticed a few weeks ago where all of the boys were smiling at something Danny had said.

"I remember that one… I think Danny had said something about… my hair, actually. Yeah, that sounds about right." Tom laughed, a nostalgic look appearing on his face as he thought.

"I like it because it's completely natural, you know? You're all just being yourselves." I shrugged my shoulders, walking off Amanda's side and collapsing onto my bed. Tom followed after me, making himself at home on my small twin-sized bed.

He curled up next to me, one arm cushioning my head while his other rest contently around my waist. I _cuddled _into him, inhaling his Tom-smell. I needed to know what cologne he used…

"Do you think this means we should have a nice little chat with your brother?" Tom spoke quietly after a moment, his voice sounding thoughtful. I had expected him to play the scaredy-cat on topics relating to Danny. Maybe I was kind of relying on it… If _Tom _wanted to tell my brother, how could I possibly oppose it?

"We might die… but yes. A little sit down is probably in order." I sighed, closing my eyes as I tried not to think about our impending doom. It was much easier said then done.

"You think he'll take it badly?" Tom asked, not really surprised but more curious. How could I explain my dilemma?

"I'm not quite sure. I've never really experienced anything like _this _to compare it to. Who knows how he'll react…" I sighed, shaking my head in wonder. Danny was the most unpredictable man I'd ever met.

"Well, even if we don't know how he'll react when we tell him, I'm pretty much positive that he'll be really angry if we don't." Tom weighed our options aloud, trying to decide what sounded worse: mysterious emotions or inescapable anger?

"So… we tell him?" I clarified, feeling slightly confident with the decision.

"We tell him." Tom agreed.

In that little moment, it was as though we had kind of sealed our own deal. By deciding to tell Danny our secret, everything suddenly felt ten thousand times more official. We were together. Tom and I were together.

Except no one I knew could know…

Oh god, what had I done?

Out of nowhere, Tom leaned down and gave me the sweetest, most joyful kiss I'd ever received. My worries, fears, and troubles all washed away as though Tom had handed me a new slate. I trusted him so much and for some odd reason he trusted me…

As it came to it's end, I found that I was smiling happily up at him. How come he was just so… awesome?

"Come back." I demanded, pulling his face back down and kissing him again. I wasn't quite finished yet.

Something in my life finally made some kind of sense. I could ignore all my other worries for a while and pretend everything was perfect while I lay in Tom's arms. In our world, everything was completely fine. There were no secrets or lies. Everything was open and honest.

I pulled away as a loud knock vibrated from my door.

"Who-?" I began, absolutely confused.

"Were you expecting someone?" Tom asked looking confused himself.

"No… maybe Amanda forgot her key?" I wondered aloud, not really noticing what I was saying.

"Well then we might as well let her in, right?" He laughed, jumping up from the bed and crossing the room.

"No, wait – Tom-" I stopped speaking as he pulled back the door. Amanda's figure wasn't present on the other side. My two best friends stood looking very surprised as Tom's figure stood in the doorway.

"Want to come in?" He asked, smiling.

This is the part where my lies come back to haunt me, huh?


	25. Chapter 25

**Bring on awesome climaxish parts of the story!!!**

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"Are you Tom?" Andrea asked, glancing quickly over his shoulder to eye me precariously on the bed. I jumped up and quickly stood at Tom's side, my eyes wide with worry and apologies. My best friends and boyfriend had know idea how much of a fake I really was.

"Yeah, I am. You two must be Andrea and Jake, right?" Tom asked politely as they stepped into the room. How come no one was yelling or screaming? Didn't they know who he was?

"Sure are. I've been dying to meet you. For awhile I thought Em was meeting up with some sketch-ball." Andrea spoke, laughing slightly at her choice of words. Good old Andrea speaking her mind… Some times she lost her word filter…

"Don't worry, I'm not too weird." Tom laughed as well, his arm lightly sliding across my waist. Internally I was slightly distracted at his adorable action but my mind quickly refocused.

I hadn't spoken a word the entire time as my fear had completely stolen my voice. Andrea and Jake were acting completely normal with Tom. Why weren't they freaking out? They had to know that he was… in… McFly…

Of course they didn't! Obviously Jake wasn't a fan! They didn't know the McFly guys!

But… Amanda had Tom's picture all over the place… what if they recognized him?

"Want to sit down?" I asked, leading them over to the couch and as far away from Amanda's bed as possible. They followed behind me, casually chatting back and forth.

"You two really do look… made for each other. I don't know… it's cute." Andrea laughed after twenty minutes or so. I had started to calm down as I snuggled closer into Tom's chest on the couch. I blushed at my friend's comment and randomly started thinking about the first time Tom and I had sat on the couch together. It felt like so long ago, but it was really only a few weeks…

"Tom mate, did you used to go to school here or something? I don't know but I feel like I've seen you before." Jake asked as he subconsciously stroked Andrea's arm. My heart literally stopped beating as Jake spoke and I choked on the water that I was drinking.

"Em? You okay?" Tom's concerned voice asked as I wheezed around the liquid. I nodded my head, assuring him that I was fine. I was just choking.

"Breathe, love!" Andrea smacked my back, causing me to cough loudly and dislodge the excess water.

"You know, that really doesn't… help." I sighed as air filled my lungs again, glaring over at Andrea. She shrugged her shoulders in response.

"You're breathing, aren't you?" She asked, her eyes wide with amusement.

"Shut up…" I trailed off as the conversation passed. Would I have to choke every time something about McFly was brought up? I don't think we had enough water in the room… Oh god…

My stomach felt ill as my friends talked on. I was only half paying attention to what they were discussing, my ears listening for anything endangering my secrets. I was such a horrible friend… Did any of them really _know _me? They knew who I was and what I was interested in but there was so much more. Were they really my friends if one of the biggest and most important things to me was a secret?

And how horrible was I, not knowing if I could trust them or not? Was that really the problem? I mean, I knew pretty much all the dark and dirty secrets about Andrea and Jake's relationship, so there had to be some trust between us. Was it that I really didn't trust them? Maybe I was just too scared of their reactions. They would probably hate me for lying… They would _definitely_ hate me for lying.

Was there a right answer here? Seriously, I hide a huge part of my life away because I wanted to avoid the fakers and users… But the fact that I hide it from my best friends makes _me _the faker! Was there ever an end?

"Hey Em? Emily? Earth to Emily!" I blinked rapidly and saw three different pairs of eyes on me. I smiled from embarrassment as they all started to laugh.

"Sorry, what was that?" I asked, pretending to be interested in the conversation.

"Nothing. You just looked like you were on some other planet. I'm not surprised you're able to block things out so well though, seeing as your roommate probably blasts that crap music all the time anyway." Jake laughed, earning a smack from Andrea.

Oh no.

I glanced over at Tom who had a slight frown on his face as though he didn't quite understand. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Jake, shut up." I said quickly, hoping that it was the end of the conversation. I could still feel Tom's confusion emanating from his body as I responded for him.

"No, wait-" Tom began, sounding very curious.

"Yeah, you know what I mean, Tom. Seriously, have you met Em's roommate?" Jake asked, encouragingly.

"Well, no but-"

"Yeah, you don't want to. Seriously, Em, I feel so bad for you. Getting stuck with the obsessive freak and having to listen to the crap she probably spews out every day. I still can't believe you haven't asked for a switch yet." Jake rolled his eyes, earning yet another smack from Andrea.

Andrea had begun to look over at Tom with a certain confusion on her face. His expression must've been giving himself away as Jake rambled on.

"Jake, you know I _like _Amanda. We're not having this conversation again." I sighed, hoping things would just stop and we could talk about something else. Everything was getting too close and too tight.

"I just can't get _how _you like her. Seriously, who in their right minds actually like's a band _that _much? Especially a crap band? Really, you'd think they were some kind of gods or something. They're just a bunch of pop stars looking for more money." Jake ranted on again. My stomach felt sick…

"Mate, what're you-" Tom had begun again, glaring over at Jake angrily. He must've figured a few things out…

"Jake, you need to seriously stop. We've been over this a thousand times. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean everyone shouldn't." I spoke over Tom, feeling immensely guilty. I felt him shift away from me slightly, completely stunned by my actions.

He knew.

"I know, I know. But McFly? They-" Jake began, but to my surprise Andrea cut him off this time.

"Jake, seriously, enough." She said, sounding angry. The room fell silent as everyone tested the atmosphere. I barely breathed.

"Emily, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tom asked, sounding formal.

No…

"Yeah," I breathed, staggering my breath slightly on the inhale. He stood up and I followed him solemly out my front door. I closed it quietly behind me, unable to completely look him in the eye.

He wasn't facing me. I could tell by the angle of his shoes. He wasn't looking at me either.

I'd fucked everything up.

"None of your friends know that I'm in McFly, do they?" He asked, his tone very level and quiet. It was worse then yelling.

"Right…" I sighed, preparing my apology in my head. Would he ever forgive me, though? My excuses were so lame…

"Did you expect me to lie to them, too?" His voice was reproachful.

"No! I just…" I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence. How could I?

"Do they know that Dan's your brother? Do they know that you're related at all?"

"No…"

Tom sighed and I took a chance to glance up at him. He was still facing away from me and his hands were continuously scratching the back of his neck. It was all my fault…

"Are you ashamed of us? Is that why? Do all your friends hate us that much that you feel like you need to hide it?" Tom suddenly asked, spinning around to face me with a hurt expression on his face.

"No… I'm not-" I'd never once been ashamed of McFly. How could he think that?

"What about Amanda? She's not ashamed! She's proud of what she likes and doesn't hide it. So what if assholes like Jake make fun of her? At least she isn't _hiding_ anything!" Tom ranted, still not yelling. I bit the inside of my lip, unable to answer him.

So what if he thought I was ashamed? His words still fit my situation perfectly. I was _hiding _who I really was from everyone I knew. He was completely right…

"I know… I'm sorry-"

"No, Em! Don't just be sorry! This… you lied to me." He sighed, shaking his head and looking away.

"But I didn't mean-" I was about to prepare my apology, but I knew he would never accept it. I'd hurt McFly before. I was already given my second chance.

Plan: B was a failure, too.

"Em… just… I've got to go." He sighed, glancing at me briefly before turning away and walking towards the stairs.

"Tom!" I called after him, willing for him to turn around and come back.

He just continued walking away…

And I deserved it.


	26. Chapter 26

**This chapter was updated for a lovely, resting subnormality. I hope you feel better soon! Sorry this chapter isn't optimistic. It probably won't make you too happy... **

**Anyways, enjoy!!**

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I stormed back into my dorm room, refusing to let the tears that threatened my eyes to spill over. I _would __not _cry. I had done this to myself. I _could not _cry.

"Emily? Where'd Tom go?" Andrea asked worriedly when she noticed I was alone.

"He left." I choked out, barely able to hold back my tears.

"Left? Oh no… Jake!" She snapped, turning to yell angrily at her boyfriend shocking him as well as me. I clearly hadn't planned on her turning on her boyfriend, and he obviously hadn't seen it coming either.

"What? What did I do?" He asked sounding extremely confused.

"You couldn't just keep your mouth shut, could you?"

"From what? What are you going on about?"

"Why do you ALWAYS have to force your freaking musical bullshit down other people's throats? You're not always right, you know!"

"That's not why he bloody left!"

"Yes it is you idiot! He's _in McFly!_" Andrea screeched, causing the entire room to fall silent. Andrea had known? Had she recognized him? Why didn't she say anything?

"…What?" Jake asked, stunned. I glanced over at the two as I breathed deeply, trying to hold my tears back. Now I was causing _them _to fight! I was Cupid's counter part! Instead of building relationships, I destroyed them.

"He's in McFly, you idiot! And you were ranting on about how shit they were. Obviously he's not going to stay and listen!" Andrea continued on angrily.

"He's in McFly? Damn, if I'd have known that I would've pissed on the mother fu-" I cut Jake off before he could finish his statement.

"Jake, shut up! Okay? Seriously, can't you just keep your opinions to yourself for once? Yes he's in McFly! I've known him for years! Tom's the _nicest _guy on the planet and now he probably never wants to see me again!" I spat, letting all my anger and sadness out. I knew it was probably unfair, seeing as Jake hadn't known it was Tom… but he would've said something anyway.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you knew those freaking money leeches! All of those times we talked about them and you just let us go on! You think I'm the bad guy? Look at you!" Jake yelled back, glaring at me angrily. Was it bad that a part of me agreed with him?

"God Jake! The reason I didn't tell you is because I didn't want to be treated differently because of it! You would've labeled me a little pop girl and gone on with your life, Andrea right by your side! For some reason, that scared me but now I wish that I had told you! Why did I want your friendship anyway?" I flipped, glaring at him.

"Because you're a faker! You think you know what's cool but you don't! Stop listening to that crap music and actually-"

"Jake! Shut UP!" Andrea yelled, stepping up to my side.

Girls stuck together. It shocked me, but I appriciated it all the same.

"Not you too, An-"

"You want the truth, Jake?" I asked, my voice back down to normal conversation level.

I began pacing back and forth, unable to look my old friend in the eye. I was about to get everything out. I was about to loose everything I built for myself but I wanted it gone. I wanted all of the secrets _gone_.

"You want me to be honest and real? Fine. My name is Emily Jones, sister to guitarist and singer, Danny Jones of McFly. I love him with all my heart but I hate all of the people who use me to get to him. I think people who take music way too seriously need to recheck their thinking because you know what? Music shouldn't be about what band you listen to or how long you've been a fan, but _how _you decide to actually listen. Every band has fans! If you don't like them then _don't listen to them._ And if you do like them, don't fucking act like they're gods! Because they're _not_. They're just people who like to play instruments or make cool sounds or sing really loud and saying you don't like one popular band because they're _popular _is literally one of the most insane things I've ever heard!" I sighed as my rant sided down to it's end. I just wanted to curl up in my blanket and never come out.

Andrea stood silently at my side, glancing over at me a few times as the empty noise in the room went on. Jake shook his head and moved off of the couch.

"Fuck you, _Emily Jones_. Come on, Andrea." Jake spat as he walked towards the door. I gasped slightly as realization hit me.

I had probably just lost what I thought to be my best friends. I completely spilled my entire story to the schools biggest gossip. Everyone would know by morning. I couldn't take any of it back. I didn't _want _to.

"I said come on, Andrea." Jake said again as he opened the door and beckoned to her.

"Fuck you, _Jacob Stone_." Andrea spat back, linking her arm through mine.

Jake slammed the door loudly behind him, his eyes glaring at the two of us before it fully closed. I turned towards Andrea, completely shocked by what she'd done.

"You didn't need to-" I began, but she shook her head.

"Em, I pretty much hated him anyway." She laughed, leading me over towards my bed. I sighed happily as I slid under the covers, the warm heat welcoming and comfortable.

"I'm still sorry." I sighed as she sat at my feet, glancing down at her hands thoughtfully.

"I just want to know why you didn't tell _me _any of this. Did you think I'd want to use you, too?" Andrea's voice was small as she glanced up at me, a little amount of hurt evident in her eyes.

I was just hurting everyone tonight, huh?

"It wasn't just you, Andrea. I didn't tell anyone. It wasn't that I didn't trust you…" I trailed off, apologetic. "I didn't really trust myself."

"You know that I'd never do that to you though, right?" She asked, still sounding hurt.

"My best friend in high school was like that… and she turned around and stabbed me in the back…" I sighed, rolling over onto my back so I could see her a bit better.

"Really?" Andrea asked, shocked.

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it sometime." I sighed, closing my eyes and allowing a few of the tears I'd been holding back to escape.

Andrea and I were silent for a while, neither of us wanting to mention the crocodile tears rolling down my cheeks. Even though Andrea was kind enough to forgive me, I would never ask Tom to do the same. He could stay mad as long as he wanted to, as long as he wasn't hurting.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Andrea asked quietly a few minutes, hours, or days later. I wasn't keeping track of time.

I knew who she meant though.

"I don't think so." I sighed, my heart pounding sadly at the thought. I was just a royal fuck up. But who was I to complain? I asked for it. I deserved it.

"I'm so sorry, Em." She sighed, comfortingly stroking my arm.

"It's fine. It's okay." I only said it to reassure her. I knew that it wasn't really fine or okay. How could it be? I knew that eventually my perfect little fairy tale would have a horrible ending. It was inevitable. What else could I do beside accept what happened and move on?

But _how _was I supposed to move on? That would entail me _actually_ being okay with Tom gone. I would have to move out of my bed and continue with life as it was before. Was that even possible?

I had to do it though, right? What other option did I have? Regret and wishful thinking really wouldn't get me anywhere. My actual life wouldn't stop just because a small part of me died inside… I still had exams and papers and homework…

I would probably be like a walking ghost.

"Do you want me to stay the night? We can watch movies and eat pop corn till we explode." Andrea offered, smiling lightly at the idea.

"No… it's okay. Amanda's staying over Chelsea's tonight and I really wouldn't mind the alone time." I sighed, sitting up and hugging Andrea lightly before she got up to leave. How lucky was I that she had taken my side? She was actually a true person. She was real.

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" She checked before her departure.

"Yeah. Tomorrow." I spoke, not really bothering with coherency. What did it really matter anyway? As long as my point got across, who really needed a subject, verb, and noun to explain themselves? They were just extra tools thrown in by society to make our words pretty and fluent.

Who needed fluency, anyway? It was just a waste of time.

My body completely checked out from that point. The last thing I actually heard before my head hit the pillow was the door closing quietly behind Andrea.

How was it possible for such a wonderful night to go so wrong?


	27. Chapter 27

**Haha, thank you EVERYONE for the epic reviews on the last chapter. The story will get a tad bit more depressing for a moment... but as Batman says, "it's always darkest before the dawn."**

**Oh. Yeah.**

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My body felt tired and heavy like someone had replaced my blood with cold stones as I had slept. My head was pounding for some reason, though I definitely knew I couldn't have a hang over. I hadn't had anything to drink at all.

It was probably the annoying beeping sound drilling into my ears that caused my random headache. It took me a moment to realize that the annoying beeping was actually my phone going off. I peeled my eyes open suddenly, reaching out to my nightstand to grasp the little devil.

"Hello?" My horse voice croaked automatically. God, I didn't know that I sounded so bad.

_"Em? You all right?" _Andrea's voice crackled through my receiver, sounding concerned. I nodded my head, forgetting that she couldn't see.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I coughed, trying to break my voice up. It seemed to work.

_"Are you just waking up?" _She asked, her voice a little bit anxious.

"Yeah. I didn't sleep very well last night." I sighed, recalling the vivid dreams I'd had. They were very realistic.

_"So you haven't been out yet?" _Andrea's anxious tone had me confused. Why was she so concerned?

"No, not yet. Why?" The moment I asked, a small beep broke through my phone. I pulled it away from my ear to see that I had a new text from a number I didn't know. "Hold on Andrea, I've got a text." I opened it up, curiously.

**Txt from: Unknown**

Are you really Danny Jones's sister?!

I stared at the text in confusion, as I had never seen one like it before. How on earth had this person gotten my number, let alone know that Danny was my brother?

"Andrea, I've got to call you back." I told her, ending the call abruptly.

_"No, Em, wait-!" _I'd hung up before she could finish.

I reopened my phone, shocked to see that I'd already missed 15 other text messages and 5 other calls. How had I not heard my phone going off?

I started to search for an explanation with the text messages, hoping that maybe they'd make some kind of sense. Each text was from a different person, some people that I knew and some that I barely talked to at all. A few were from mysterious numbers just like the first text, all causing me to ask myself one question: what was going on?

**Txt from: Beth**

**Is Danny Jones your brother?**

**Txt from: Christopher**

**Are you the sister of that dude from McFly?**

**Txt from: Unknown**

**OMG! Danny Jones is your BROTHER?**

**Txt from: Tori**

**I just found out… Danny Jones is your brother? How come I never knew?**

**Txt from: Chelsea**

**So Danny Jones is your brother? Did I miss the memo?**

**Txt from: Will**

**Dude, Jake just told me that your Danny Jones's sister. Were you thinking of telling us at some point? **

**Txt from: Unknown**

**Hey Em, it's Renee. Um… I just found out that your Danny Jones's sister. Want to go catch a movie or something?**

I shut my phone, my heart nearly ripping from my chest. This is exactly what I was afraid of. And Jake… he'd done exactly what I thought he would.

How could I show my face on campus now? It would be horrible! Everyone knew my secret and I wasn't even the one to let it out. My story was now the juicy bit of gossip that would always stick around the school, brought up at parties throughout the years. How could I face _anyone?_

Where was Amanda?

I glanced over at her bed, completely shocked to see that it was empty. Amanda _never _slept over anywhere. She always slept in the dorm. Where had she gone? Was she with her friends?

I recalled the text from Chelsea, one of her closest friends, realizing that if Amanda was with her, she would know my secret as well. She probably hated me. Everything was messed up and I couldn't get any of it back.

I turned my phone off, unwilling to read any more of the texts. I grabbed the water bottle from my bedside table and drank a bit before sliding back under the covers and into my little blanket cave. In my cave, nothing mattered except me. I was the only living thing. The only being. I was alone.

No one was there to judge. No one was there to speak. No one was there. I just needed to be completely and utterly alone.

I must've fallen back asleep with my lonely thoughts, because a few hours later I heard the door quietly open and click. Amanda must've been back.

I remained hidden under my covers, too embarrassed to show my face. This would have to be how we lived for now on - her sneaking around and me hiding. It was pathetically our truth.

Could I really live the next year and a half of my life like this? Hiding from anything that could hurt me? Would that have to be my Plan: C?

It would be so hard… But what other choice did I have? Drop out of school? Transfer?

Was I really willing to drop my life, my _real _life, for a different, fake one? If I started all over again at a different school, the same thing would inevitably happen there. Except…

Tom wouldn't be there to interfere. Not that I even considered him to be interfering. I loved talking to him and thinking about him… And now he was gone.

Reality was a bitch. How come I couldn't just live in a fairy tale like all the other girls I knew? Their lives really did seem just fine… but was that because they were all honest? They were all truthful about the events going on? I was the only one who lied… and I was the only one suffering.

"Emily?" I jumped slightly as Amanda whispered my name. I pulled the blanket slowly away from my head, glancing over at her nervous form. She must've felt so weird…

"Um… yeah, Amanda?" I replied, my voice horse again. What was wrong with me?

"I…" She trailed off, unable to look me in the eye. A few silent moments ticked by as I waited for her to continue, watching as she awkwardly stared at her feet. I realized after a moment that she was waiting for me to speak.

"Look, before you say anything I just want to apologize. I'm not asking for you to forgive me or anything but I really want you to know that I only lied because-" She cut me off, finally looking up at me.

"I know why you lied…" She sighed, quickly glancing over at her McFly wall. "It's because I'm a super fan-girl, right? All those times I've gone on and on about how much I _love McFly _and little did I know that I was rooming with one of their sisters…"

"No, Amanda!" I shook my head, my eyes wide. "That wasn't it at all."

"But that was one of the reasons." She put in, her eyes knowing. I sighed, willing myself to speak the truth. I was honest now.

"Okay, I'll admit… It was kind of weird waking up every morning and seeing Danny's face smiling down at me… and when I shower… and eat…" I trailed off, realizing that I wasn't making my point. "But, honestly, it wasn't just because of you. I… I guess I have this issue from when I was younger… I've always had this weird idea that people would use me to get to Danny… so I just decided that to the public, I'm not his sister." I shrugged my shoulders, talking freely now. "I never brought him up because I wanted everyone to believe that I was just a boring girl named Emily Jones. Nothing special…"

"I wouldn't have used you… though I wouldn't be surprised if you thought I would… I really won't. I promise." She said earnestly, her big eyes looking over at me as though pleading. "You don't even have to introduce me to him. Ever… not even an autograph." It was as though she was trying to reason with me.

"Don't worry, Mandy. I know you're not like that." I shook my head, smiling lightly.

"You do? So you're not going to ask for a new roommate?" She bit her lip nervously.

"What? Why would I do that? We have a good time." I asked, very confused.

"Well… when the rumor about you being Danny Jones's sister started, everyone said that because I'm so obsessed, you'd switch out."

"No way." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Well… yeah."

"I won't do that. I don't think I could even stand a new roommate now, anyway. I mean, I know _you _wont use me to get to Danny, but you should see some of the texts that I've gotten already. I can't believe it's happening again…" High school came back to haunt me.

"Chelsea was saying something about that. She said that sense you were my roommate, we could-" Amanda stopped speaking, blushing slightly.

"What?" I asked, urging her on.

"Never mind. You don't want to know… I don't think I'm going to be hanging out with Chelsea any time soon though." Amanda sighed, plopping down onto her bed. I accepted her answer, already knowing what she was going to say.

I had to admit, I was kind of euphoric at the thought of Amanda and I still being friends. I still had Andrea, too, which was like a double whammy. Maybe it wasn't so bad being honest. I knew exactly who my true friends were now. Jake was obviously off the list but I think I preferred it that way anyway. Why had I even liked him in the beginning?

And all of those people deciding that _now _was the perfect time to text and call, offering trips to the movies and stuff… _they _were the fakes. It was such an easy way to tell.

But could I face them? Could I walk out of my room and talk to them? Pretend like everything is normal?

Honestly, I didn't really trust myself with an answer.


	28. Chapter 28

**To my faithful readers: I love you.**

**This is mega long. Enjoy. And I only had time to edit the first half... so if there are HORRIBLE spelling/grammatical errors, I apologize in advance. **

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If a random person was to take my phone and search through all of my calls for the past week or so, they would notice that the only calls made were to my professors for no longer then a minute long each day. If said person was to further investigate my teacher's attendance records, they would notice that I'd been labled as 'Excused Absence - Sick' in each book. But was I really sick? Yes... so to speak.

In my teacher's eyes, I had a very bad cold. Personally, I knew it was another kind of sickness. I was sick to my stomach with fear to go out and face my peers, now that they knew the truth. I made the Cowardly Lion look like a brave knight.

But facing my friends wasn't the only reason I was afraid. I was scared that if I started living my life again, Tom really wouldn't come back. As the days went on, I kept thinking to myself "tomorrow he'll call. He'll send me a text, or he'll call. Everything will get back to normal."

He never called me me.

Obviously his rejection meant that I was supposed to move on. He was serious about leaving. I needed to get over it… but I didn't want to.

But how could I ask him to forgive me? It wasn't fair to him. If he wanted to be mad, it was his choice.

I really did miss him.

In the rough month that we'd been speaking, I felt like I'd really gotten to know him. Obviously, I didn't let him know the real me.

How could I have been so stupid!

"You going to class today?" Amanda asked as she readied her book bag over her shoulder, her voice distinguishably transparent. We both knew I wasn't going to school.

"Don't feel good." I mumbled truthfully. I _didn't _feel good. At all.

"You know, you're going to have to go back to the real world eventually, Em. You can't hide forever." Amanda sighed in a non-contradicting way as she exited the dorm room quietly. I shook my head, trying to wipe her words from my memory so I could fall back into a guiltless sleep.

_"She just won't move! I don't know what to do… it's not healthy… you'll come, then? Thank you, so much. All right, bye." _I awoke as Amanda hung up her phone, sighing loudly. My eye remained closed as my brain worked away. So she was really worried about me, huh? She was _calling _people about me?

I felt bad that she was so worried, but I just didn't feel ready. If I went back to class, I wouldn't feel the same. Nothing would be right.

"Emily? You hungry? I've got pizza. It's from our favorite place." Amanda's voice softly wafted over to me with the smell of delicious cheese pizza.

Of course thoughts of Tom rushed into my brain as well.

Our first kiss was on a night where Amanda picked up our favorite pizza. I had eaten pizza with Tom after we baked a truck full of cookies. We ate Italian on our first date.

"I'm not really hungry." I sighed back, my thoughts suddenly depressing.

"At all? Love, you've got to eat something. You can't just drink water for the rest of your life." Amanda's voice was consoling yet lecturing at the same time. I could tell she was frustrated with my unhealthy lack of appetiete.

"I had a pear awhile ago. Honestly, I'm not hungry." I replied truthfully. I wasn't a lair anymore.

"It doesn't matter if you're hungry or not. Here, I'll make you some toast or something. Could you at least force that down for me?" She asked, pulling out a small roll of wheat bread.

"Sure…" I sighed. It was just to settle her thoughts any way. So what if I felt like I would puke just from swallowing a few bites of bread? At least she would be happy.

"Do you want a protein shake, too? Your diet really can't be too healthy right now, Em."

"I'm okay. Really." I could only handle so much, though.

Amanda didn't reply as she fixed my toast, handing it to me wordlessly and resting upon her own bed. I swallowed the pieces of bread in a few, quick bites. It didn't quite feel as sickening if I didn't pay any attention to it.

I set the empty toast napkin aside, curling back up into a ball under my covers. I was probably due for a shower, but I couldn't find the energy to get out of bed. It was exhausting to just walk across the room. Probably from the lack of food…

I must've drifted off into a dull sleep. Lucid dreaming, or being able to know when I was dreaming, was something I'd always had a knack for.

I was walking through my school in my pajamas, not really minding the empty hallways or the soundless corridor. I preferred it that way. I walked into my biology class, taking my regular seat and waiting for my professor to come it. It was completely normal that I was the only one in the classroom. I wanted it that way.

I liked controlling my dreams. It was the one thing in my mind that I actually _had _control over. It was my own imagination. No one else could take it.

What I didn't understand was why Danny walked in the classroom instead of my professor. I hadn't wanted that to happen. Was I loosing my touch? Was I actually letting the only thing I had control over slip from between my fingers?

Danny walked over to me, sympathetically looking down at my desk. I didn't want him to look sympathetic. I wanted my professor.

_"Em? You awake?"_ Danny asked me, the concerned look evident upon his face.

"Yeah." I replied, like it was obvious.

Oh. I _was _awake.

"Danny?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. Okay, maybe lucid dreaming wasn't really the best thing ever. It really messed with my grip on reality.

"Hey, how're you doing?" He whispered, sitting on the edge of my bed. How had he gotten into my dorm?

"I'm… how'd you get here?" I inquired, completely perplexed.

"Amanda called me." He shrugged his shoulders in reply. I glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the heel of Amanda's shoe disappear out the front door.

"She… called you?" Nothing was making sense. How had she gotten his number?

"Yeah. On your phone… she's worried," he stated, a serious expression appearing on his face. "What's going on Em? What's with the depression?" Asked Danny, his tone clearly stating no funny business.

"It's nothing-"

"I don't want to hear that because we _both _know that 'nothing' is always 'something.' Now, the truth, please?" How could I deny him the truth? Especially after I'd been secretly denying it for so long?

I took a deep breath, readying myself for a long story. Where would I possibly begin?

"Remember a few years ago… we had that huge fight?" I asked, choosing to begin at the very beginning of my Plan: A.

"Of course I remember. I thought you hated me…" Danny stated, curiosity coating his tone. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well… this is kind of like that." I turned my eyes down to my quilt, unwilling to meet his intense gaze. "I thought… that if no one knew I was your sister, I could avoid all the people who'd use me to get to you," I sighed, shaking my head at my stupidity. "I haven't told a single soul for the past five years that I'm related to you…"

"You… what?" Danny's voice was taken aback. I'd shocked him.

"Hear me out, okay?" I stated quickly, hoping he'd stay to hear the rest of my story. I glanced up at him momentarily, hoping to gauge his reaction briefly. There was no anger in his eyes, only confusion.

"Okay, go on."

"I'm not ashamed of you, first of all. I love you and McFly so much… so don't think for a moment that I was trying to hide you or anything." I cleared up, hoping that Danny wouldn't come to the same conclusion Tom had. "I mean, you can still be mad at me. I lied… to everyone. To you, to mom, to my friends… everyone," God, how pathetic was I? "Just… I did it for selfish reasons… Jessica shook me up so much and I didn't know how to deal with people using me… I still don't…" There were so many people in this school thinking of me now. Thinking of Danny now.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Danny asked, hurt coloring his voice.

"I guess I figured that I was the only one who should know… I didn't tell anyone." I shrugged my shoulders. It was as close to the truth as I could go.

"But… I mean, I'm glad your telling me, but what's with the depressed thing, then? Is it because your roommate knows? She didn't really sound that bad on the phone, Em. I mean, she might've squeaked for a moment in the beginning but that's it… She's not a user." Danny said confidently, hoping that he'd solved the problem.

"I know she's not. I'm so, _so _thankful that she's not," my breath left me in a small chuckle. I'd gotten so lucky. "I'm not quite finished with my story though…"

I would have to tell him about Tom if he was going to know the entire story. But… no more lies. He had to know.

"There's more?"

"Yeah…" My eyes flickered back to my quilt. "Remember when you came here kind of drunk after your gig a few weeks back? Remember how Tom came to bring you home?" My voice was small as I spoke. It was the first time I'd mentioned Tom aloud in days.

"Er… yeah." Danny's voice sounded embarrassed as he recalled his drunken stupour.

"Well… Tom and I kind of kept in contact after that." I shrugged, trying to put my story in chronological order. It was kind of difficult to think backwards.

"You did?" There was a new interest in his voice.

"Well… yeah. We hung out a few times and… well… this is really kind of awkward, Danny…" I sighed, trying to force myself to continue. All of my memories with Tom were flooding back into my brain, rushing to my tongue. I wanted to scream, cry, and laugh all at the exact same time. I was clinically insane.

"Em, I think I see where this is going…" I couldn't understand his tone. Was he mad? Okay? Upset?

"You do?" I asked, peeking my head up a bit.

"Yeah," He sighed, his hand running through his hair as he leaned back against the wall. "Did you two hook up?" He asked, peeking one eye open to look at me.

"Well… what exactly do you mean by _hook up_?" I asked, looking for clarification.

"Em," His gaze was stern.

"We kind of got together." My breath staggered out of me as I thought about it. Tom and I were together. We _were_.

"When did that happen?" His voice was oddly light.

"Um… three or four weeks ago… I think." I pondered to myself, trying to calculate how long I'd been locked up in my room.

"And you two never thought it was a good idea to tell me?" Still the oddly light tone hovered in the air.

"That's the thing… we _were _going to tell you." Here comes the climax, folks. The main point of my story was finally being revealed.

"Were?"

"Last week, after our…date… Tom came back up here just to… hang out," I began, choking slightly on my words. "My friends Andrea and Jake weren't supposed to show up. I thought I'd scheduled the night around their classes so that Tom and I would be safe and out of the way." Danny listened intently, his face absorbed. "Jake… well, he's an asshole, really. He's hated you guys for as long as I can remember. Every time he mentions you it's usually a long rant about why the pop industry is going to poison us all." It sounded so natural rolling of my tongue, as though I'd known it all along.

"So he recognized Tom." Danny observed.

"No… we were actually having a good time until Jake started talking about how much my roommate sucked for listening to you guys." Here it comes… "Tom had no idea that none of my friends knew I was related to you. To put it lightly… I think he's really mad at me…" I sniffled, trying to hold back any of the weak tears straining my eyes. I would not cry.

"He is?" I didn't like Danny's new tone.

"But he has the right to be!" I cut in, defending Tom. "I _lied_, Danny. To everyone. You deserve to be mad at me, too!" I didn't want any fights in the band, especially over me.

"Em, Tom should've heard you out-"

"Dan, please just listen," I wanted to finish the story so I'd never have to repeat it again. "After Tom left I pretty much spilled my pitiful story to Jake and Andrea. I told them about how you're my brother and how I've known the band all along and how I think Jake is pretty much a dick… he didn't like that…" I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"So they left?"

"Just Jake. Andrea… she forgives me. I don't know why, but she does." I shook my head, unable to fathom her faith.

"Well, she's nice." Danny said simply, as though that was a good enough answer.

"Yeah, she really is." I knew who my true friends were, anyway. "But… Jake is pretty much a school gossip. By the next morning everyone knew my… _secret_." I wished that I had a better word for it.

"Everyone knew about you being my sister, you mean?" Danny clarified, kind of shocked.

"Pretty much. I had so many text messages and calls from people asking about you… Danny, it was like my worst nightmare coming to life. I shuddered, thinking it over.

Danny considered my words for a moment, a particular look on his face. It looked as though he was internally debating with himself and I wasn't sure if he was winning or loosing. Was that even possible?

"What?" I asked, trying to get him to speak.

"It's just…" He trails off, his cobalt eyes glancing up at me a few times before he let out a frustrated sigh.

"What?" I asked again, wanting him to speak. I could feel some kind of confrontation boiling deep in his brain.

"I just think… that maybe you shouldn't worry so much. It would made it easier for you in the beginning if you'd just let things go." Danny shrugged, trying not to be offensive.

But would you blame me if I kind of took offense?

"Dan, if I didn't worry about things I would never get _anywhere_. I'd still be stuck back at home. You should worry more! You can't just let things do what they may!" Now I was attacking him, trying to get the spotlight off of my imperfections. I was wrong… but I couldn't really stop.

I could tell that Danny was getting angry. This conversation had gone from innocent confessions to hurtful confrontations in a matter of seconds. I hated fighting with Dan…

"Em, I'm happy where I am in my life. I _know _what I'm doing and how I need to do it. _You're _stuck in school all day worrying just because _they tell you to_. Fate doesn't care about _plans_! Things will happen that are out of your control! But those things that you can control? Those are the things you need to do right by! Don't sit there trying to make everything perfect because it _won't be_." Dan's monologue left me speechless. Who knew that my brother had such meaningful words locked in him? He was completely right… and here _I _was trying to hurt him.

"I know… I'm sorry, you're right…" I trailed off, looking away.

"Look Em, I _am _sorry for everything that's happened…" Danny shook his head as our little spat came to a close

"It's not your fault… I kind of asked for it, right? This is what I get for lying to everyone." It was my responsibility.

"But you're going to go back soon, right? You can't lie in bed and hide forever, Em. You can't let this little mess up ruin everything." Danny was pulling the exact older brother roll that I needed. For some reason, he still loved me enough to try to help. I was so lucky to have him…

"Dan… I can't face them… I don't know how! I'll… I'll have to transfer schools and make up the work… I can't do it, Danny." I sighed, looking back down at my quilt as I admitted my weakness. "I'm Jack's admittance of defeat." I sighed, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Was that a Fight Club reference?" Danny asked, caught off guard slightly.

No, actually, it was a Tom Fletcher reference via Fight Club. But sure, think what you want Danny.

"Yeah." No.

"Look, Emily, I don't care how many movies or books your refer to, you're not transferring, dropping out, or quitting school. You're the only one who actually has the guts to finish it." Danny pleaded, his voice desperate.

"I just… can't here." How could I get my point across?

"Why not? This school was all you talked about when you were younger! It's exactly the same as before your little white lie got let out… except now everyone knows the real you." Danny shrugged, his stupidly cute sense of humor breaking his serious tone.

"That's not it, though…" Would I be a mess if I admitted it to him? "I can't go back here… because… it'll be like I've completely given up on Tom coming back… like I've completely moved on…" There. I said it.

Danny stared down at me for a few unspeaking moments. I gulped lightly, regretting my big mouth. I shouldn't have said anything.

"So… if he came back, you'd stay?" Danny clarified, his expression calculating.

"What're you thinking?" I really wished that I hadn't said anything. Danny was known for acting without thinking. I've come to fear quite a few of his actions.

Danny stood up from the bed, ignoring my question and heading towards the door. Was he going to get Tom? Half of me wanted him to leave and never return unless the adorable blonde guy was on his arm… and the other half of me wanted him to freeze exactly where he was.

"Danny, don't-" I stopped mid-sentence as Danny swung the door wide open.

On the other side, Amanda and Tom stood obviously with their ears pressed up against where the door had been, completely baffled. They'd been caught.

"Oh… um… hello." Amanda bit her lip, blushing. "I'll just… be going, then." She disappeared down the hallway.

"I should go too-" Tom began, glancing at me quickly before staring determinedly at Danny.

"No, I think you should stay here." Danny suggested, pulling his friend into the room by the shirt collar before stepping over the threshold himself. "I think I'll go catch your friend, Em. Maybe we'll go get something to eat." Danny winked before slamming the door in his own face.

My brother was insane.

"Um… hi," Tom scratched the back of his neck, blushing.

"How… how much did you hear?" I asked, frozen on my bed. Was I completely screwed?


	29. Chapter 29

**NEXT CHAPTER IS THE VERY, VERY LAST ONE! I don't know if I should be happy or sad...**

**Enjoy my lovies. =]**

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"I didn't hear… too much…" Tom gave a sideways glance in my direction before looking up at my ceiling. "Actually… I think I heard it all…" he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief after a moment. Tom was never a very good at lying.

"You… did?" I asked, not sure what to make of that. He'd heard it all. So he knew everything now.

"Yeah… Danny was at my house when your roommate called… I gave him a lift here…" He slowly made his way closer to me, never really meeting my gaze. I had no clue what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry." I sighed, glancing for the third time down at my lap, unwilling and unable to look at him anymore. If he was still mad I didn't want to see it.

Tom sighed loudly, almost sounding frustrated. I wanted to will all of his frustration away, feeling guilty for all of it. I caused him so many problems…

"You shouldn't be sorry…" He eventually breathed out, his voice much closer then I thought it was. I took a chance to glance at him quickly, noticing that he was already right in front of Amanda's wall of pictures. "I should be…"

"No. You really _shouldn't _be sorry. This is… all my fault. Don't try to blame yourself because it really will make me mad." My honesty was surprising even to me. Though my tone of voice didn't really support my all-too-serious statement.

"But I never even stayed to hear your side-"

"Tom, I was never planning on telling you my side…" I trailed off, looking up at him determinedly. He stared back at me, confused. "You had every right to be mad. I didn't want to ask you to forgive me… I didn't deserve it."

"Of course you do, Em. I mean… everyone lies." Tom shrugged his shoulders, moving to sit on the edge of my bed. My heart bounced along with the springs in the mattress. He still had a hold on me…

"That's pathetic…" I chuckled, looking down at my lap as I sat Indian style underneath my blanket. I wasn't sure if I was talking about my heart's reaction to Tom's proximity to me, or Tom's excuse for my actions. It fit perfectly well for both… I picked at my chipping black nail polish, peeling back little chips and watching as they landed on my quilt. Something needed to distract me…

Tom seemed to think that I meant his excuse. "Why? Seriously, everyone has secrets. Everyone lies. It's inevitable so we might as well learn to forgive each other when we find out, right? How else would the world possibly function?" I could tell he was growing slightly frustrated as he ranted on. I wasn't sure if he was irritated with the subject of our conversation or with me.

"Well what is your secret then? What do you lie to everyone about? If everyone has one, then what's yours?" I contradicted, unable to imagine him hiding anything.

"I've got a few," He shrugged, leaning his head back against my wall like Danny had a few moments ago.

"What, then?

"Well, we kept our… _relationship_ a secret from Danny. That was a recent one." He shrugged again, stumbling over his words. My chest tightened as he spoke, voicing just one of my main problems. I couldn't tell if he was speaking in past tense or not.

"Again, that was probably my fault."

"Would you stop that?" Tom laughed, shaking his head. "I'm trying to prove a point over here and you keep stopping me."

"Isn't that my job? I'm trying to prove your wrong." Now I was confused. Were we discussing our discussion?

"Hear me _out _first," he sighed, his hands folding together in his own lap as he spoke. "Because otherwise, I really won't remember what I'm talking about."

"Okay, continue then."

"Right…" I gave him a moment to recover his thoughts. "So you want to know what I lie about?" I didn't reply but waited silently for him to continue. "Sometimes I really can't stand hanging out with the guys. I love them to death but on some days I just want to kill them." Tom confessed, sounding slightly ashamed.

"You do?" I must've sounded shocked. I'd always considered Tom to be the lovey-dovey parental figure of the group.

"Yeah. I mean, I've never told the guys that because it would hurt their feelings, wouldn't it? And I guess a lot of people feel that way about their best friends… I would take a bullet for them, I really would, but there are days where I just like some Tom-Time. You know?" And I could understand what he meant. Didn't I used to fantasize about a normal roommate? Yet I would never trade Amanda for the world.

"Yeah, I know… But Tom, everyone feels that way. I _lied _to you, to my friends, to Danny, to _everyone _about me. You were right… I might as well have been ashamed…" God I sounded so depressed…

"You know, I really regret saying that." Tom sighed as though he was confessing again.

"But you meant it."

"Yeah, _then_. But not now. Not now that I… well, _eavesdropped _on pretty much your entire conversation with Danny. I was wrong." Of course, _he _was wrong. _I _couldn't be wrong, though, huh? It wasn't fair! How come he was allowed to take all the blame?

"Tom, will this end? This isn't your fault. It's mine. And you trying to take the blame isn't helping. It's making me feel worse… so you know what? Actually, keep doing it. It's probably better that way."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Em." Tom rolled his eyes, a smile evident on his face. "You sound so much like Danny sometimes."

I laughed, breaking composure for a moment and shaking my head. Well, Danny _was _my brother.

"Em, I just want you to feel better. This really isn't that big of a deal. I want you to be happy and get up and go to school… you shouldn't drop out." Tom sighed, his eyes meeting mine and trying to convey something. My disfunctional brain couldn't keep up.

But maybe I could stay here. Tom and I were having a pretty decent conversation right now. Maybe we could just stay friends if he really didn't want to get back together with me. Would being friends be enough to get me through these hallways, though? Or would I still be giving up on him?

"I…" Could I promise him? Could I _honestly _promise him?

"You'll stay?" He asked, concern coloring his face and tone. Could I knowingly disappoint him?

"Yeah. I'll stay." I agreed, meaning every single word. I would stay. Even if it killed me.

Tom sighed happily, leaning over the small space in between us and hugging me. I gasped slightly as his warm arms circled around my shoulders and my nose inhaled his delicious scent. My entire body was overwhelmed by his presence, practically screaming from joy. All of those days, willowing away pitifully in my bed were completely worth it if this was the only thing I had to show for it. Tom Fletcher was hugging me. I could definitely manage school if this was my payment for it.

"Thank you," Tom sighed, pulling away slightly, a small smile evident upon his face. My cheeks were flushed red from my own joy and I had to look away, embarrassed with my reaction. He probably thought I was a fool.

"Thank _you_." I replied easily, still unable to meet his eyes due to the rising color of my cheeks. God _damn _my pale skin.

My breathing completely stopped as Tom reached forward, two of his fingers curving around my chin and pulling my face up gently. It was such a morbidly cliche moment but I couldn't stop my eyes from flickering instinctually to his own, meeting his deep brown orbs with confusion. His small smile was still evident upon his face, reassuring me. I suddenly felt safe. All of my worries were gone.

And then he was kissing me. It was as though nothing bad had happened. We were picking up right where we'd left off.

"Tom?" I asked after we broke apart, our breathing heaving and faces flushed.

"Hm?" He replied, his arms locking tightly around my shoulders.

"I probably should shower…" What? I'd been in bed _all week long_. You'd want to shower too.

"Five more minutes," He bargained, capturing my lips once again.

Yeah, five more minutes wouldn't make a difference.


	30. Chapter 30

**Once upon a time there was a fanfiction writer by the name of Laura, or Hope-Change, who decided to combine her love of writing with her love of the band, McFly. Laura enjoyed posting chapters of her story on a nearly daily basis as she had wonderful reviewers who made her smile. Laura thought that she had 30 chapters to her story, but it sadly turns out that Laura has no idea how to count!**

**There are 31 chapters. I'm an idiot. I'm too embarrassed to write a formal apology. **

**Just. Yeah. I'm dumb. **

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"_Are you done yet?" _Tom's strained voice broke through my bathroom door as I tried to pull on my jeans. I laughed loudly, nearly falling over as I did The Jean Dance, trying to slip them over my shiny wet legs. 

"Tom, it's been _ten minutes_. Give me a moment to breathe!" I called back, buttoning my pants and pulling on my bra and t-shirt. I heard him huff through the door and walk away, muttering something about time wasting.

My euphoric feeling was nearly at the highest I'd ever felt. Everything was perfectly falling into place. Tom, for some unknown reason, still wanted me. Obviously I still wanted him. That was a no-brainer.

I was truly the luckiest person on the planet.

Though… I still had to face the real world. But that actually didn't sound that bad… especially because Tom was by my side. It would be easy with him.

"I'm done," I called, exiting the bathroom and slinging my wet hair over my shoulder.

"You smell nice." Tom commented from behind me, his arms sliding smoothing around my waist and folding over my belly button. I blushed, spinning around to face him.

"Thanks… I think."

He laughed, bending down to place sweet kisses on my lips. I sighed happily, recalling that strange feeling from our very first kiss. I noted contently that the feeling was still there, strong as ever, though this time I had a definition for it.

Tom and I were together. We were _going _to be together. Obviously it would take work, but we were both here to stay. The thought made me want to jump up and down and kiss something all at the exact same time.

I chose to just kiss something.

"You think this'll ever get old?" I asked from our position on the couch. Don't ask me how we got over there. I'm clueless.

"What? This?" Tom asked as he kissed me once again.

"Well… yeah." I laughed in responce, slightly distracted.

"I'm just making up for the last week. I don't know about you, but I missed this." He confessed, concentrating for a moment to show me what he meant.

"Yeah. I definitely missed it…" I replied after a while, nodding my head in agreement.

"So… we can't let that happen again. No matter what, okay? We'll have to see each other at least once a week because otherwise I'll go through withdrawals." Tom admitted, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"You know exactly how to compliment a girl, Mr. Fletcher." I teased, running my fingers through his hair. "But what about when you go on tour?" I inquired, interested. That would be a snag.

Not that I was worried. Touring was just a hiccup that we'd have to work around. We could handle anything.

"Well… England's big, but not _that _big. I can drive to come visit your or if we're close you can come visit us in our hotels. Danny would like that, too." Tom commented, thinking aloud.

"What would I like?" I turned my head sharply as Danny and Amanda reentered the room, curiously looking in our direction. Tom and I sprung apart, blushing profusely. My brother had just walked in on us in a horizontal position. I saw my life flash before my eyes.

So maybe we were no longer hiding things from Danny… it was still embarrassing for my older brother to walk in on me making out with someone. Any girl would agree.

"Um…" Tom trailed off, scratching the back of his head nervously… "That's going to be awkward." He chuckled, not meeting Dan's eye.

"Yeah…" I agreed, biting my lip.

"How about we just agree that you… don't make out?" Danny offered hopefully as a tiny glare shot out from under his lashes at the two of us. It was better then what he'd done to my first boyfriend, at any rate...

"Actually, we were just discussing Emily coming out to visit us at some of our shows during tour." Tom sidestepped, avoiding Danny's suggestion. Good going, Tommy boy. Way to avoid awkward conversation.

"Yeah… hey, that's a good idea! You can bring Mandy, too!" Danny said, a huge smile showing on his face as he glanced down at my little roommate. She blushed madly, glancing between Danny and I. Something was up.

I looked at them suspiciously, meeting Tom's gaze briefly before passing it off nonchalantly. They'd tell me when they were ready. I wouldn't pull the annoying sibling routine like Danny did. He was a pro at it.

"All right… Emily and I probably need to head to bed. School tomorrow and everything… Well, I assume you're going to class, right?" Amanda asked, glancing between Tom and I quickly before fixing her stare on me.

"Yeah, I am." I sighed as Tom took my hand lightly at our sides. Aw…

"Does that mean we should go?" Danny asked loudly, causing the rest of us to shake our heads sadly at his minimal brain capacity.

"Yes, Dan. We need to be going." Tom laughed, rolling his eyes at his band mate before pulling me a few steps away. It didn't give us much privacy but at least we were out of hearing range.

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I want to hear all about how your school goes, okay? You'll do great." Tom assured me, bending down quickly to innocently kiss me. My brother was in the room, so we had to keep it rated G.

"Thanks…" I smiled as he moved away to join Danny at the door.

"You know, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. I mean, I like you two together but I think I might puke if you kiss her again, Tom. Seriously, there are just some things a brother…" I closed the door behind Danny as he spoke to Tom about me. I had to admit, I was happy about it.

I spun around quickly, looking at my roommate for an unmoving moment. There was a permanent smile on her face as her eyes looked directly back at me.

"Ah!" She screamed, running towards me and enveloping me in a suffocating hug. My friends were so weird… How could I've not seen that coming?

"Ah!" I screamed as well, unable to stop myself. Her weirdness was contagious. "Why are we screaming?"

"Just… Ah!" Amanda yelled again, jumping up and down.

"Right!" I laughed, pulling away and rolling my eyes. It felt good to feel normal again. It was like taking a huge gulp of clean air after your touched the bottom in the deep end of the swimming pool. It felt rejuvenating.

"No… it's just… I'm so happy that you're happy and smiling. And your hair is clean! And your brother bought me dinner! Oh everything is just great." She rambled off, spinning around the room and falling gracefully onto her bed.

"Ooh! What's this I hear?" I commented, falling onto her bed as well. "Did my brother _buy _you dinner? Gosh, he normally makes _me _pay for my share!" It felt good to laugh.

"You're not going to freak if I start rambling on about how adorable I think he is, are you?" Amanda asked, meeting my steady gaze.

"No… with you it's different." I assured her, knowing that she wasn't using me to get closer to Dan. That was pretty much obvious. "But anything about how you want to do him is a _bit _too far."

"Well obviously… but _ohmygosh_ we went to this cute little café down the street and just talked and talked! He says he misses you a lot and _that _was just adorable! Oh and…" Amanda rambled on about her outing with my brother, squealing happily at some point and looking serious at others. I couldn't lie; I was pretty much euphoric for her. She deserved happiness…

"So what're your feelings about tomorrow? Are you nervous? I can walk with you to class or something, if you'd like." Amanda suggested as the end of her story, looking interested and concerned.

"No… I think I'll be okay. I can handle it." I wasn't quite sure how true my words were until they left my mouth. If anyone was too over the top it wouldn't be that hard to tell them what I was feeling. Why hide it? I could handle anything.

"All right, then. Give me a call if you need anything, though." She offered, sliding into her pajamas and hopping in bed.

"Will do. And Amanda? Thanks. You know… for just being awesome." I sighed, sliding into my own bed as well.

"It's all in a days work, my friend." She laughed, switching off the light.

I was completely surprised with just how easily I was able to fall asleep…


	31. Chapter 31

**Here is... the last... chapter. (I'm so happy and sad!) It's taken a great time, awesome reviewers, and my best friend's lap top to get me here. I want to thank you ALL. The reviewers, the people who subscribed (or whatever it's called on FF) and all of my silent readers who choose to remain in the dark. I love you ALL.**

**I present to you.... the last chapter. =']**

**(HAHA. P.S. - any of you who Enjoy a Mr. Danny Jones, stay on the lookout for my next fic. I'm still not quite sure yet what it'll be called but it should be up maybe by next week.)**

***************

_I can do this. This is nothing. I've seen these people hundreds, if not thousands_ _of times before. What can they possibly do now that they haven't done before?_

I was prepping myself for the day as I grabbed the last of my notebooks and folders lying across my desk. Part of me was really angry that I'd let myself fall so far behind in my studies because I knew that I'd still have to make it all up in the end.

"All right, I'll see you at lunch, Em. Bye!" Amanda called as we parted ways at the bottom of the stairs. She turned left, heading to her writing and literature class while I had to go right, to my math. _I can do this…_

I braced myself, inhaling a full breath of cool air before pushing open the door to the classroom. I was early so most of the seats were empty except for the few over-achievers sitting in the front. I waved lightly in their direction before heading to my normal seat in the back, repeating my mantra and controlling my breathing.

Students slowly filed into the room, chatting loquaciously to one another about what was happening around the school. I picked up on a few key stories about the swim team and other minor casualties, secretly waiting to see if my name came up. It didn't.

I was beginning to loosen up until a few small circles of people started to form, their eyes flipping in my direction every now and then.

I must've been getting paranoid. I was _waiting _for something to happen, so obviously I thought every small thing was something big. The groups of girls were just talking. Why was I freaking out?

Math began and I took some seriously hard-core notes. I wanted to catch up from the past week quickly so I wouldn't have to make it up at the end of the term. My professor was pretty nice and would probably give me some extra tutoring if I asked for it.

The class ended punctually and I watched the mass of people around me stand up and flow out the door. I staggered behind, taking my time to put all my papers away in my bag. When everything was organized I followed the fading crowd out the door, pleased that no one had actually mentioned anything to me about Danny. Maybe the few days that I took off had let the heat die down… no one was interested anymore.

I made my way towards my biology class, dreading it for more reasons then one. I wasn't as good at Biology like I was with Math… it would be hard to catch up. Not to mention George was always a nuisance. God, what I'd pay to have him thrown off a bridge…

That was insensitive. I apologize.

I was early to my Biology class too, which made me kind of happy. I took my seat, facing the front and pulled out all of my materials. I felt a slight tap on my shoulder and I quickly spun around, startled.

"Oh, hey Jamie." I sighed, realizing that the small kind girl who sat in the very back of the room had taken the seat next to me, smiling.

"Hey, Emily. How are you?" Her small voice asked, concerned.

"I'm fine? How are you?" I asked, kind of confused. Her sympathetic expression was confusing me. It wasn't what I was expecting.

"I… well, now don't take offense, Dear, but I heard you finally are going out with George. Were you… forced to?" She asked, a completely bewildered look on her face.

"What? Jamie, what're you talking about? I'm not going out with George." I shook my head, the idea disgusting me.

"You're not?"

"God, no!" Never in a million years would I even _consider_ dating George. What was going on?

"Oh… well, I guess he's been telling people that you're together. He said that when you hadn't shown up to class, he went to your room to check up on you. From there… well… I heard it from Brady." She informed me, biting her lip nervously. "I'm not quite sure who he heard it from, though."

"That's… okay. I can't – I would never – _George_?" I couldn't complete full sentences. Never once had I thought that I would have to actually _worry _about George! Sure he annoyed me a lot, but nothing _this _far!

"Here he comes now. I'll leave you to it, then." Jamie whispered, jumping up from her seat and making her way to the back of the room. I watched her go, unable to speak. I was going to kill him.

George meandered into the class, resembling something I considered to be a tragic mistake. His stupidly baggy jeans hung below his waist and his annoying polo just made me want to kick someone. Preferably him.

He smiled and joked with a few students before turning and entering the room more fully. Then he spotted me.

I'm not sure if it was from the immense anger upon my face or if he just realized that he was screwed, but the moment his eyes landed upon my steaming form his expression fell completely. His once smiling complexion suddenly looked terrified and sick.

Good.

He recovered his composure easily, coughing slightly before slowly making his way between the desks to where I was seated. I curled my fingers into my palm, feeling my nails pinch the skin. It hurt, but it stopped me from screaming at the lowlife.

"Good morning, Emily." I could hear the Devil speaking to me, calling out to me in a fake-friendly greeting. I wasn't a friend of the Devil. I despised him.

"George." I replied back, nearly spitting the name.

"How are you feeling? You were out for nearly a week." Meaningless conversation. There was no interest behind the words, just forced small talk.

"I'm feeling fine. I heard _you _had a great week." Still, my words came spitting out of my mouth. Did he not feel the venom?

"My week? Oh yeah… it was nice." The truth was starting to come out. He looked nervous.

"I know." I swear, if looks could kill, I would never blink.

"What?" He asked, mock-confusion scorning his face. So he wants to play dumb, now?

"George. I'm going to kill you. You won't know when and you won't know how, but I'm going to kill you. I'll just leave it at that." My lips barely parted as I spoke, terrified that if I opened them wide enough, I'd scream.

I heard him gulp and move to take his seat. Had I finally gotten through to him? Did he _finally _realize that he couldn't play around with me? I hated that kind of thing.

The class started and never once was I disrupted by George's immaturity. He never spoke, touched, or whispered so much as a single word to me. My pride nearly flew throughout the entire room. Just wait till Tom heard!

The class was released to flow through the hall with all the other students, resembling a school of fish as they parted the sea of people. George was nearly the first fish in the hallway, jumping up and running out of the room the moment our professor dismissed us.

I swam along with the rest of the fish, slowly finding my way upstream and out of the rapid waters of college. It was amazing to see that no one really came up to me; their eyes briefly meeting my own and smiling, or giving a friendly wave in my direction. No one cared that Danny Jones was my brother. Every single fish in this hallway had their own reason for swimming, their own worries to fuss over, and their own plans to make. The long years in high school when _your _life was _everyone's _life were long gone. I could move on.

My phone started to ring in my pocket, causing a huge smile to spread across my face. Who could possibly be calling me the moment my classes got out?

"Hey Tom," I greeted, stepping out of the school and into the warm sunshine.

_"Hey! How was your day?" _

"It was great." I replied contently before telling the only fish who cared about my day.


End file.
